Rise of Team ARKS
by MadmanRoberto123
Summary: The tale of 4 friends who come together during their first year of Beacon Academy to fight both Grimm and evil organisations. Along the way they encounter various enemies, friends and struggle with traditional high school problems... like romance. Teams RWBY, JNPR & CFVY will be involved in main plot. Rated M for blood, gore, language and implied themes.
1. Beacon Academy

**A/N: This is my 1st attempt at a fanfiction, so please feel free to critique me in any way in the reviews. Also, I do not own RWBY. I never have and never will.**

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CHAPTER 1-BEACON ACADEMY

"So, this would be the mighty Beacon Academy. Doesn't look like much, does it?", the young man said to his companion Ryan. "Not really, but after being kicked out of Dust knows how many schools, I'm willing to put in the time to finish this place, so let's try and keep this one going, can we Adam?", was the reply he got. "Alright, so I'm guessing we go to the main assembly hall to get sorted out?" the one called Adam asked receiving a shrug of the shoulders in response. Rubbing the bridge of his nose in frustration, Adam started to lead him towards the main entrance of the school.

"Adam, do you hear something?" Ryan asked as they neared a statue in the middle of the grounds. Adam nodded and both of them turned just in time to see two girls having what seemed to be a heated argument, one of them cowering under a red hood, and a girl dressed head to toe in white towering over her shaking what appered to be a vial of fire Dust at her. Adam didn't know what it was, but the girl in white seemed awfully familiar from somewhere. It was that moment when Ryan tapped him on the shoulder and pointed at the red hooded girl, Adam noticing her face contort as if she was about to...

* * *

"ACHOO!"

* * *

The resulting explosion nearly blew both of the girls off the edge of the cliff Beacon was situated on, but luckily, all that happened was the cloud of fire Dust particles created by the girl in white's vial ignited and created a thin layer of ash which stuck to both of the girls clothes.

"You idiot! Don't you know what you are doing? You could have killed us both!" was the resulting scream from the girl in white. Adam decided he had heard enough and decided to intervene. "Excuse me, but it seems to me like you are being particularly mean to this sweet girl, and frankly, I am not the kind of person who lets this sort of behaviour stand. I think you should apologise to this girl immediately" he rattled off with a barely detectable hint of venom in his voice, which the girl picked up on.

"Excuse me?" the girl in white shot back, turning to face the new arrivals. "Don't you know who you are talking to?" she added, giving Adam the kind of stare which usually made people cower in fear, but not Adam. He had spent a lot of his life looked at like that and it didn't work on him as much as it seemed to work on the girl in the red hood. Adam was about to reply "No" but when the girl turned to face him, he recognized her almost immediately. "Of course I do, Miss. You are Weiss Schnee, heiress to the Schnee Dust Company, practically the biggest corporation on the face of Remnant, known for significant contributions to many fields in recent years..." "Finally, some recognition!" the girl said, cutting Adam off and flinging her ponytail over her shoulder as she said it, only for Adam to raise a finger to silence her, "... but also infamous for its controversial labour laws and low work rate for what they consider "second-class" citizens."

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Adam was of course referring to the mistreatment of the race of people called the Faunus, which were people who were born with animal characteristics, such as cat ears and monkey tails. They were often looked down upon by humans, but Adam and Ryan had nothing against them. They had always seen the Faunus as people just like everyone else. Not to say that all of them were good natured, because that would be a far cry from the truth. In recent years, a group of Faunus had assembled an organized militia and called themselves the White Fang. They had been responsible for numerous attacks on humans the last few months, which prompted Adam and Ryan to enrol at Beacon Academy to become Huntsmen & defend the world from both the creatures of Grimm and the various criminal elements of the planet.

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"HOW DARE YOU?!" Weiss bellowed before turning her back on the three people behind her and storming off. "You OK?" Adam asked the girl in the red hood, extending a hand to help her off the ground. "Yeah, I'm fine" she answered. "Thanks for helping me out there, I was afraid she might have bitten my head off!" she added, gaining a small smirk from both of the boys in response. "It was my pleasure. Name's Adam Robertson, and this is Ryan Clougherty. And who might you be?" Adam asked, determined to know the name of the girl who seemed to want to be their friend. "Oh, sorry! My name is Ruby, Ruby Rose! Pleasure to meet you!" she stated, smiling to the two before her eyes locked on to the swords hooked to their waists.

"Ooooh, I like your swords! What do they turn into, if you don't mind my asking?"she asked, nearly jumping up and down in excitement. Both boys couldn't help but suppress a snigger at the girl's antics, but Adam pulled his sword out, cleared his throat and said, "My sword is called Deathcaliber, and can transform into a rifle, which can then be split into two halves which double as both pistols and daggers. The sword is double edged and the the blade at either end can be fired at the enemy using the pistol mechanism on the opposite side. " he rattled off, clearly having had to memorize that speech multiple times.

"Wow, your weapon can attack in many different ways. That's so cool! That's the first weapon I've seen with more than 2 functions!" Ruby said, staring in awe at Deathcaliber.

"And Ryan's sword, named Stormblade, can transform into both a rocket launcher and a pair of pistol daggers." Adam rounded off.

"What kind of weapon do you have Ruby?" Ryan asked, noticing what appeared to be her weapon folded at her back. Ruby smirked at him, then unsheathed her weapon which turned out to be an oversized scythe, it's blade nearly cutting off Deathcaliber's when it popped out. "My weapon, Crescent Rose, can turn into a customizable, high-impact sniper rifle! I made her myself, what about you two? Did you make your weapons?" she asked, gaining a nod from both of the boys in response.

"Right, well this has been fun, but we should probably be getting to the main hall for orientation", Ryan said, tapping both Adam and Ruby on their shoulders to gain their attention. Adam looked at his watch and saw that it was nearly time for orientation. All three of them sheathed their weapons and ran full-pelt towards the front doors of Beacon. They made it just as the noise level in the hall was dying down to allow the headmaster, Professor Ozpin, to give his speech.

"Oh, I see my big sister Yang over there!" Ruby said, pointing to a towering blonde figure waving in their direction. "I'll talk to you guys later!" she shouted back to them as she started jogging towards the figure.

"Well, she certainly has character, don't you think?" Adam said over his shoulder to Ryan, who sniggered in response. "You can say that again. Now come on, we should get spaces", he stated, gesturing at an area for them to stand...

* * *

"Well, that was fucking boring!" Adam let out as he collapsed onto his bed in the hall the new 1st years were sleeping in, before initiation the next day would sort the new students into teams. They had just arrived from the agonisingly long orientation talk, and had gotten changed into their pyjamas before talking to each other. "I agree", Ryan said, nodding his head in response. "They really don't set a good standard for the school when simply the talk that welcomes students to the school is long and drawn-out."

At that moment, Adam's eye was drawn over to the corner of the room, where he was hit with a bolt of recognition. Shaking Ryan's shoulder furiously, he pointed over to the girl sitting on her own, her nose in a book, trying to be unnoticed by the rest of the room. "Ryan, is that who I think it is?" he asked, even though he already knew the answer. Ryan followed the direction his arm was pointing in, and his eyes went wide. "It can't be, can it? It is!" he exclaimed. "It's Shannon Mccafferty! Dust, it's been years since we last saw her! Do you think we should go up and say hello?" He added, not sure what to do. "Of course we do. We were friends before, right?" was Adam's reply, which Ryan responded to with, "Really, Adam? Last time she saw you, she all but broke your nose for making fun of her relationship!" "Ok, fair point. But that was years ago. We've both grown past it. At least, I have anyway. I'm going up to her. You coming?" He asked, getting to his feet in record time and pulling Ryan along without waiting for an answer.

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As the two boys wound through the maze of sleeping bags and people who were staying up late to chat, they failed to notice that they were being watched by a girl who seemed to take a particular interest in Adam more than Ryan. She had seen them help out Ruby that morning, and was wanting to go up and talk to them, but she was just too nervous. She had been alone for most of her life, with no friends or family to look after her, so she craved for the feeling of companionship, but she quickly banished any hopes of getting friendly with anyone, especially Adam, as he struck her as the type of person who wasn't out to make friends...How wrong she was...

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Eventually, Adam and Ryan reached the corner where Shannon was reading, and Adam gained her attention by clearing his throat and saying "Hello! Excuse us for disturbing you, but could we be so bold as to ask your name, Miss?" "If you're trying to ask me out, your out of luck. I'm not looking for a relationship at the moment." the girl said, without even looking up from her book. Ryan tried to make up for the blunder by stating "Oh,no,no,no! We, um... we were just wanting to know your name as you seem awfully familiar to us. If you're not who we think you are, we will leave you alone. I promise." He said, putting a hand over his heart to show his sincerity.

"Well, alright then. That seems fair. My name is Shannon Mccafferty. Pleasure to make your acquaintance." she said, finally lifting her eyes from the book and placing it on the ground. Adam nodded his head and proceeded to ask Shannon, "Did you move from Patch to Vale 5 years ago, by any chance?" She stared at him, stunned at how he knew that. "How do you know that?" she asked, with her eyes wide. "Well, we were the last two people you saw before you left Shannon. Remember Adam and Ryan? Your best friends?" Adam asked her. Shannon looked down at the ground then back up, looked between the two of them, and nodded. "It's so good to see you two again!", she stated, jumping up and hugging the two of them. "We should get together sometime and chat, but right now, we should get some sleep. We've got a long day ahead of us tomorrow!"

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 **A/N: So that's the ball rolling! Yes, Teams RWBY and JNPR will be in this fanfiction as allies to our main team, but I will be tweaking their characters just a little bit here or there. As you may have noticed, Ruby is a lot more timid with Weiss at the beginning than she is in the show, but I thought that would be the best circumstance for our characters to meet her. Also, the "mysterious girl" watching our heroes near the end is actually the 4th team member, but we'll learn more about her character in the next chapter.**


	2. The Forest

**A/N: This chapter will go more in depth as to our heroes personalities. This will also be the chapter in which the teams are formed. And yes, if any of you know me personally, which would be a small number of you, you would know that I have based these OC's off of me and people I know. Also, I do not own RWBY. This is the last time I will say this. Also, same as last time, this is my first attempt at a fanfiction, so please fell free to criticize. Now, enough of my rambling. Enjoy the chapter!**

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CHAPTER2- THE FOREST

"Adam! Adam! Adam! Wake up you lazy bastard..." Ryan said, poking Adam to try and get him awake. The most he had gotten out of him had been "Fuck off, too early..." but if Adam didn't get up soon, they were going to miss initiation. Ryan then had an idea, one which would almost certainly wake up Adam, but put Ryan's well-being into serious questioning. He walked to his bag, pulled out a bottle full of ice-cold water and dumped the entire lot over Adam's head. That certainly woke him up. "YOU SON OF A BITCH! I'LL FUCKING KILL YOU!" Adam screamed, tackling Ryan to the ground and getting them both soaking. At that moment, they were the only ones, besides from Shannon, who had stayed behind to wait for her old friends, in the hall; everyone had gone down to breakfast. Ryan had woken up first, followed by Shannon and both had already ate. Ryan had anticipated Adam's "long lie-in" so he brought a tray of food up for him. Adam then took notice of the clock, which caused him to mutter "shit!" and start to use his innate power, or Semblance, of super speed to get dressed into his "combat gear" which basically consisted of whatever t-shirt and tracksuit bottoms he could find, mostly black, a grey hoodie on top of the t-shirt and a blue jacket over the hoodie. The hoodie and jacket were gifts from his Mum before she passed away. Underneath the hoodie and jacket combo was where Adam clipped Deathcaliber to his waist. After he was ready, and he had wolfed down the food Ryan had brought, he looked up at the clock again and saw they had little under 10 minutes to get to Beacon Cliff for initiation. "Well, what we waiting for? ALLONS-Y!" he yelled, motioning for the two to follow him...

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The trio made it outside the school and to the cliff before anyone even turned up. That is, except the girl who was watching Adam & Ryan the night before. Before any of them could even catch their breath, the voices of Professor Ozpin and his second in command, Glynda Goodwitch, announced the arrival of the rest of the 1st years. They were instructed to stand on metal squares in the ground, each big enough for one person only. Adam was placed to the left of Ryan, and Shannon was on Ryan's right. To Adam's left was the mysterious girl who arrived before them, and even further down the line was Ruby and her sister Yang, along with Weiss Schnee.

Ozpin then cleared his throat and said calmly to the students: " We Huntsmen and Huntresses fight to protect the people of this world who can't protect themselves. Many of you may know this, but what you do not know is that both Huntsmen and Huntresses must learn to work together with each other if ever a situation arises where one warrior isn't enough. So today, you will be sorted into your teams. Teams are made up of four individuals, so it is best to be paired with people you can work well with and trust." At this, Adam shot a sidelong glance and smirk at Ryan and Shannon, which was returned immediately. Ozpin continued; "That being said, the first person you make eye contact with after landing will be be your partner for the next four years." This caused a groan to issue from most of the students, and Adam was surprised to see a look of absolute horror on Ruby's face. He also noticed the mysterious girl on his left was shaking quite badly. He decided to reach out to her. "Hey, you scared?" he asked. She nodded, all the while trying to look anywhere but into Adam's eyes. "Want to know a secret? I'm scared too. I could be partnered with any one of the idiots here." This statement from Adam caused the girl to giggle slightly before going mute again. Adam decided to try and make her feel better.

"Hey, I'll tell you what. When you land, keep your eyes on the ground and look and listen for me. I'll do the same." he said, winking at her, just as the first students were launched over the Emerald Forest from their podiums. He had vaguely heard Ozpin say that each pair must collect one relic from a temple inside the forest and bring it back to the cliff. As the podiums launching the students got closer to Adam, he suddenly grabbed the girl, placed her on his podium and moved onto her empty podium, straightening the collar of his jacket as he did so. Ryan saw this whole affair take place and could only mutter "Show off". The podium then launched Adam into the air, followed by the girl, Ryan and Shannon.

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To slow himself down, Adam unsheathed Deathcaliber and turned it into its dual dagger form just in time to hook around the branches of a tree and swing himself to the ground. As he hit the ground in one final roll, he dusted himself off and said, "Nailed it!" It was then he heard a twig snap behind him. Pulling out Deathcaliber again, he was pleasantly surprised to see that it was the girl from the cliff. Not being one to back away from a one liner, Adam quipped "We really gotta stop meeting like this. People are going to talk." This caused the girl to laugh, and he ended up locking eyes with her.

"Well, if we're going to be partners, I'll be needing your name." Adam said, just like this was a business interview, not choosing who he was going to be stuck with for 4 years. "It's Kayleigh. Kayleigh Murphy." she said, extending a hand. "Nice to meet you Kayleigh, I'm Adam Robertson." he replied, taking her hand.

Just as the new partners were about to start walking, they heard what sounded like the howls of a pack of wolves. "What is that?" Kayleigh asked Adam, clearly not having much IRL experience with the creatures of Grimm. "They're the first Grimm many people see. The advance guard. BEOWOLVES!" he got out as red glowing eyes surrounded them. "Right then, no point in fighting them, is there?" he asked, receiving a shake of Kayleigh' s head in response."Alright then, Plan B. We run. ALLON-SY!" With that they backflipped over a Beowolf that was charging them, turned and ran.

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Elsewhere in the forest, Ryan had just used Stormblade to lower himself to the ground without becoming a stain on the side of a tree. As he landed on the forest floor and dusted himself off, he could sense a large presence behind him. Turning on his heel, he saw both halves of a King Taijitu getting ready to chomp him in two. Luckily, before the snakes could even begin to attack, there was a flash from behind them, and when it dissipated, the black half of the Taijitu had disappeared. It had been vaporized by the flash. The White half of the snake was confused by this turn of events, which only led to its own demise a few seconds later as Ryan cut its head off with Stormblade, letting the body evaporate behind him.

"Thanks for the assist. Didn't need it, but thanks," he coughed out to his saviour, only to find that it was Shannon who was standing there. "You're welcome...partner", she said, extending a hand to help him off the ground. He took it and used all of his strength to get back up on his feet. "Nice weapon you've got there. What's it called?" he asked, looking at the rifle now slung over Shannon's shoulder. "Actually, it doesn't have a name, just a classification. It's a Rechargeable Electromagnetic Pulse Rifle." Ryan looked deep in thought for a moment, then said, "Reaper". "Sorry?" was the confused reply from Shannon. "Call your gun The Reaper. You know as in Grim Reaper? The embodiment of death itself?" was Ryan's enthusiastic response.

Before Shannon could reply, she noticed a column of smoke in the distance, but before either of them had even had the time to blink, they had been knocked to the ground by a pair of figures running at breakneck pace. Just as soon as the figures lifted themselves off of them, they realised that it was Adam and the mysterious girl from the cliffside. "Oh, hello you two! Fancy meeting you here!" Adam exclaimed, extending a hand to both of them and pulling them both to their feet. "So, I take it you two are partners now?" he asked, gaining a nod from the two. "Oh, before I forget, Kayleigh, these are my friends Shannon and Ryan. You can trust them. If I've got your back, they will as well, I know it. Guys, this is my partner Kayleigh." The girl nodded to the two while quietly saying "Hello. Pleasure to meet you." Ryan stepped forward and put a hand on the girl's shoulder to reassure her, saying "No need to be shy around us, Kayleigh. I can already tell we're going to be great friends", smiling as he did so. Kayleigh looked hesitant for a second, but she quickly strengthened her resolve and nodded.

"Right, now that we've officially all met, we should get moving to the temple. Hopefully we can get sorted into the same team. Ready?" Adam asked, all of the other three nodding in confirmation. "Alright then, off we go. Avante!"

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As they were nearing the centre of the forest, Shannon remembered something that snagged her curiosity. Turning to Adam, she asked, "Did you have anything to do with that column of smoke we saw before you rammed into us?", jabbing her thumb over her shoulder. Adam and Kayleigh looked at each other with confused looks, and shook their heads. "Wasn't us. We don't use fire for our weapons, at least I don't." Adam replied. "Huh, I wonder what happened then..." Shannon said, with a clear indication of curiosity on her face.

As they continued on, Adam couldn't help but feel that the four of them were being watched. His fears were proven true when, as they were resting against a tree after walking for what felt like hours, they heard a twig snap, and they all drew their weapons, except Kayleigh, who merely hid behind Adam as she didn't have a weapon; Adam had been providing all the damage for their pairing using Deathcaliber. As they were anticipating an attack by some Grimm, they were surprised to see a trio of people emerge from the trees.

"Well, hello there my friends! Cardin Winchester at your service!" The four friends looked at the leader of the new arrivals with a look of confusion. Cardin took no notice of this and continued, "I couldn't help but notice that one of you is without a partner, and my friend here is still in need of a partner of his own, so why doesn't that one make the smart choice and join the best group?" As he finished this, Adam couldn't help but laugh. This guy, who looked and acted like a complete asshole, was wanting him to ditch his mates and join them? In his dreams!

"Sorry mate. As much as I appreciate your offer..." Cardin had a smirk on his face at that..."I'm going to have to decline. Besides, if you were to use your eyes correctly, you would see that I actually already have a partner, right here!" He continued, patting Kayleigh's shoulder lightly. "What, that weakling who doesn't even have a weapon? HA! A word of advice mate: You can't survive this line of work if you work with the wrong sorts. We can help you there", was Cardin' s amused reaction to this news. Adam then decided to scare Cardin a little bit and used his semblance to get right up in Cardin's face, causing him to fall to the ground. Trying, and failing, to keep a straight face, Adam stated, "I think I can tell the wrong sort for myself,thanks! Now, if you would be so kind as to do one, we will be on our way now!" Cardin got to his feet and said, with a look of utter rage on his face, "You will regret that, you prick!" Adam all but burst out laughing at that and claimed, "Oh, please keep talking! You're going to look pretty funny trying to eat corn on the cob with no fucking teeth!", looking particularly angry at the last few words. With that, he turned and left the three behind as the rest of his friends hurried after him...

* * *

After Dust knows how many minutes, they finally reached a stone structure, with plinths all around the area's circumference with chess pieces on them. They were 4 pairs of chess pieces, two were black; a knight and a rook, and the other was white, with the same pieces. "I guess whichever pairs pick the matching pieces are put into a team." Adam deduced, stepping forward to examine a black rook. "Well, which do we pick?" Ryan asked, looking to Adam for help. At a complete loss on to what to do, Adam picked up the black rook. "Might as well!", he said, shrugging his shoulders, pocketing the chess piece as he did so. Ryan and Shannon nodded and Ryan grabbed the other black rook, sliding it into his pocket.

"Well, that wasn't so hard, was it?" Adam let out, pleased that the four of them could have just ensured their team's formation before it was even official. "Well, no use in us sitting around gossiping! We'd better get back to the cliff! C'mon!" he continued, starting to head back in the direction they came from.

* * *

They reached the cliff in little to no time, which was odd, considering the trouble they had getting to the Temple. "Well, today has certainly been interesting, hasn't it?" Adam asked his three companions, all three of them smirking. "It's not over yet, Adam! We still need to have the team's formed!", was Ryan's response. As they reached the top of the cliff, they were surprised to see that Professors Ozpin and Goodwitch were still there and their group was the first back. "Congratulations!", Ozpin said as Adam and Ryan handed over their chess pieces. "You may now go inside and wait for the forming of the teams!", he continued, waving towards the school. They quickly went back inside to gather their things and talk about the day so far...

* * *

A few hours later, the group was gathered in a small room off to the side of the school's auditorium, waiting for them to be called up. They had already seen 3 other teams be named; Team CRDL, consisting of Cardin Winchester, Russel Thrush, Dove Bronzewing and Sky Lark, Team JNPR, consisting of Jaune Arc, Phyrra Nikos, Nora Valkyrie and Lie Ren, and finally, team RWBY, made up of Ruby Rose, Weiss Schnee, Blake Belladonna and Yang Xiao Long. Each team had a leader, Cardin led CRDL, Jaune led JNPR, and Ruby led RWBY.

* * *

Professor Goodwitch, who was standing in the room with Adam and his friends, then beckoned them forwards to the stage and Ozpin, his voice magnified, said, "Adam Robertson, Ryan Clougherty, Kayleigh Murphy, and Shannon Mccafferty! The four of you retrieved the Black Rook pieces! From this day forth, you will work together as...Team ARKS! Led by...Adam Robertson!" he finished, smiling at Adam, who couldn't help but be bewildered at being chosen as leader. "Good on you, mate! No one better for the job!", Ryan exclaimed, clapping the new leader on the back. Adam then heard Ozpin say to Goodwitch, "It looks like things are shaping up to be an... interesting year..."

* * *

 **A/N: And there we have it! Team ARKS is now formed. I have no idea as to how the whole "romance" thing in this story will play out. Even though I have based the character of Kayleigh off of my IRL girlfriend, I may not make Adam, the character based off of myself, end up with her; he may pursue a relationship with Ruby, or Phyrra for that matter. (Maybe not, as Jaune would be pissed!) Anyway, scenarios will play out as my brain envisions them, so expect a curveball or two in this story. Right, I think I've rambled on enough. Until the next chapter, Madman Roberto signing off!**


	3. The First Day

**A/N:A short one this time. Just so you are aware, the members of Team ARKS have a colour and a symbol to for each of them. Adam is symbolised by black and his symbol is that of a panther head, Ryan is symbolised by yellow and his symbol is a lion head, Kayleigh's colour is scarlet and her symbol is a phoenix & Shannon's colour is white and her symbol is a lynx. These symbols help determine their fighting styles. Anyway, update over. Enjoy the chapter!**

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CHAPTER 3- THE FIRST DAY

"BRING, BRING! BRING, BRING!"

The alarm that Adam had set to ensure that he woke up for his first day of classes went off just as Adam was beginning to arouse from his slumber himself. Not caring as to what he was doing, he grabbed the alarm clock and literally tossed it out the window, hearing a dull THUNK as he hit what was either a student, a teacher or a tree. "I hope that I didn't just concuss someone there", he grumbled, still not 100% awake.

"Well, what did you expect when you throw things out of windows without even looking?" he heard someone ask from the other side of the room. Clearly, as he was the stereotypical "early bird", and he was in his brand new school uniform, Ryan had been up for a while. "Oh, don't give me that. You know what I think of those accursed things!" Adam replied, still struggling to not pass out due to the amount of grogginess he was experiencing. "Well, I suppose since I'm up, I'll get a shower and get dressed. Can you have a cup of coffee ready for me when I get out?" he asked, Ryan nodding as Adam seemed to have just read his mind as he was going for a cup of coffee himself. "Cheers! Shouldn't be long!" Adam said, dashing into the bathroom and locking the door behind him.

A few minutes later, Adam came out of the bathroom wearing his school uniform and immediately noticed a steaming mug of coffee on the table. After he had finished gulping it down, he looked to where the other two members of his team where sleeping the night before, but noticed that their beds were empty. "Where've Kayleigh and Shannon got to? Did they wake up while I was in the shower?" he asked Ryan, who as now lying on his bed scrolling through the pictures on his scroll. "No, actually. They weren't here when I woke up, so they must have gotten ready and headed down to breakfast." "Well then, we'd better get going! C'mon!" Adam said, grabbing Ryan's arm and dragging him out the room...

* * *

As the pair reached the lunchroom, they spied their teammates sitting on their own at a table, engaged in what seemed to be a topic of great debate. Adam and Ryan headed over to their table and sat beside their respective partners. "Hello ladies! What have you been up to?" Adam asked, genuinely interested in what they were talking about. "Well, we went for a walk around the grounds and then came here for breakfast. What about you two?" Kayleigh replied. Adam was about to say "Nothing much," but Ryan beat him to it and said, "Well, Adam could possibly have given someone a concussion due to him flinging his clock out the window!" Shannon and Kayleigh both looked at Adam with what could only be described as shock on their faces. "Hey, look! If you were to put up with that godamm wailing, you'd wing it out the window too!" Adam hastily said to defend himself, raising his hands in the air. That caused the group to burst out laughing.

At that moment, Adam had someone tap him on the shoulder and ask, "Excuse me, but us that chair taken? Every other one is." Adam's head jerked up when he heard the voice speak. It was none other than Ruby Rose, the girl who he and Ryan had saved from Weiss two days prior. "Oh, hello again Ruby! Why yes, of course you can sit down! Please", he said gesturing to the seat beside him. "Ruby, you already know Ryan," he said, pointing towards the man in question who waved to Ruby as her gaze met his, "and these lovely ladies are Kayleigh and Shannon, the other two members of our team! Kayleigh is my partner and Shannon is Ryan's." he recited, Kayleigh and Shannon shaking hands with Ruby as Adam introduced them. "Pleasure to meet you!" Ruby said, taking the seat that Adam indicated. "If I may ask, who did you get partnered with Ruby? I've been meaning to ask." Adam asked, looking to Ruby. Ruby let out a snigger and said, "I ended up with that Weiss girl that was shouting at me the day we met, remember her? Well, if you looked up at the sky in the Forest, you would have seen a column of smoke? Anyone?" Ruby asked, which drew a gasp from Shannon. "That was you? I thought it was Adam and Kayleigh! What happened?" Shannon asked in concern.

"Me and Weiss got ambushed by a pack of Beowolves. Not too much of a problem, but well, I accidentally caused Weiss to miss a shot with her fire Dust and set the forest on fire!" She added, giggling. Adam and Kayleigh looked at each other in horror, knowing that the Beowolf pack was originally after them. "Um, Ruby? I don't know how to put this, but you and Weiss were jumped by those Beowolves because me and Kayleigh were running from them. They must have caught your scent. Sorry." Adam rattled off, hoping she wasn't too mad. It would suck to make a friend and lose one in the span of a few days. Luckily, she smiled. "Don't worry about it, Adam! We got out fine! Can't say the same for the Grimm though!" Ruby quipped, causing them all to laugh. They then realised that the bell for class was just about to go. With that, they got up and ran...

...straight into Team CRDL. After picking themselves off the ground, they noticed that Cardin, the leader of the group, was looking at them with a look of disgust on his face."Hey, watch where you're... oh, it's you lot..." was the greeting that Adam and his friends got. "Look man, we're just running a little short on time here, so if you could kindly step aside, we won't have to have a repeat of yesterday." Adam said to try and defuse the situation.

"What do you mean by a "repeat of yesterday"? We didn't even see each other yesterday, idiot!" Cardin announced, drawing the glares of a few students in the vicinity who were just trying to get to their next class. Just as Adam was about to formulate a retort to the obvious lie, they were interrupted by a huge blonde figure walking over to them. "Well, what's going on over here?" the new arrival asked, seemingly not caring that Team CRDL looked at her as if she were something worse than dirt. "None of your concern, Blondie. Beat it before I teach you a lesson, too" Cardin said with venom in his voice. The blonde smirked at him and said in reply, "Well, two things you should know: One, call me Blondie again, and I'll lay out in a second. Two, it does concern me when my little sister is involved. You alright Rubes?" she ended, nodding her head towards Ruby. "Fine, Yang. Thanks." Ruby said, grinning like an idiot.

As this whole exchange was going on, Cardin was standing there with his jaw hanging open. "Wait, what? You two are sisters? You've got to be kidding me." he said, shaking his head as if he was a dog trying to dry himself off. "Well, as you can see, you thick bastard, we are sisters, so I suggest that you beat it!" Yang said, gesturing past them down the corridor, with a look on her face that immediately shut Cardin up, so he and his cronies left, leaving them standing outside of the classroom.

"Ruby, you alright? They didn't harm you, did they?" Yang asked her sister, with concern clearly on her face. "Yang, again, I'm fine." Ruby grumbled in reply. Yang seemed to accept that and turned to Adam and his friends. "Well, Ruby, you going to introduce me to your friends?" Yang asked, crossing her arms while staring at the other four, waiting for her sister to introduce them. Ruby looked puzzled for a moment before she realized what Yang was asking. "Oh, sorry sis! This is Team ARKS! That's Adam, the leader..." Adam raised a hand at that, "Ryan, the second-in-command, from what I gather..." Ryan nodded towards Yang, "their old friend Shannon, who is also Ryan's partner..." Shannon gave a small wave to Yang, "& finally Kayleigh, their newest friend and Adam's partner!" As she finished the introduction, Kayleigh gave a small "Nice to meet you" to Yang, who unfortunately picked up on the girl's nervousness. "Shy a little bit, are you?"she asked, receiving a small nod in return. "Don't worry, Kayleigh. I don't bite. Unless you fuck with me, my sister, or my friends. Other than that, your completely safe." she added, Kayleigh looking a little scared at first, but quickly catching on that Yang was just messing with her. Mostly, she was.

"Anyways, nice to meet you all! I'm Yang Xiao Long, Ruby's older sister, but you can just call me Yang! As much fun as its been to meet you all, I have a class of Grimm Studies to get to with Ruby! C'mon Rubes!"she exclaimed, grabbing Ruby's arm and starting to drag her away. "Actually Yang, these four have the same class as us, so they can walk with us! C'mon you guys!" Ruby replied, waving for Adam and his friends to follow them. Eventually, they reached the classroom they were to start classes in. As they got in and took their seats, Adam noticed that their teacher, Professor Port, wasn't exactly on the slimmest side of the scale. "He doesn't even look like he could get back up if he fell, and he's supposed to be a professional Huntsman? This should be fun.." Adam couldn't help but have an evil grin on his face...

* * *

"Thank fuck! I thought that teacher would never shut up!" Adam said later as they dragged themselves from the lecture hall after Professor Port had rambled for most of the period, but suddenly changed to asking the students who among them felt as if they had the elements of a true Huntsman. Only one person had put their hand up...and that was Weiss Schnee.

"I do, sir!" she had screamed a bit louder than she probably intended. With that, Port had her change into her combat gear and fight against a Creature of Grimm. In this case, a Boarbatusk. As Weiss was being encouraged to fight the creature by her teammates, when Ruby tried to give her some helpful advice, Weiss just screamed at her to "Stop telling me what to do!", which, Adam noticed, looked like that cut really deep into Ruby. Adam couldn't help but feel sorry for the girl in red.

"That Weiss girl is a grade A bitch. All Ruby is trying to do is help her out, and she gets that treatment. Disgusting." Adam thought to himself. Thankfully, sometime during the fight, Weiss actually did use Ruby's hint of aiming for the unarmoured belly of the beast to end the fight. Even though almost all of the class applauded Weiss' efforts, Adam didn't. He was too worried about Ruby. "I wonder why I care so much about what happens to Ruby." Adam thought to himself. "It's probably just my innate care for my friends coming into play." he shrugged, passing it off as nothing important.

* * *

"I agree." Ryan had responded, bringing Adam out of his recollections with a look that suggested he didn't even know what had been going through his leader's head during the lesson. "You alright Adam? You look a little pale..." Kayleigh asked, concerned about her partner's lack of response to their group's conversation. "Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. Just...I'll see you three back at the dorm, alright? I just need to ask Ruby something."he replied, seeing the girl in question slinking away with her head down, almost getting bowled over by a furious Weiss Schnee ramming past her. Jogging over to the young girl's side, Adam extended a hand to her and asked, "You alright? I heard what she said to you after you tried to help her in that lesson." Ruby replied with, "Oh, I'm alright, and it's fine between Weiss and me. She just didn't get much sleep last night. My fault." As much as she hoped the obvious lie would dissuade Adam from pushing further, it didn't work. "Ruby, if you feel she's giving you a hard time, don't hesitate to come to us or the rest of your team. We're friends after all, aren't we?"he asked, with a small smile on his face to show his sincerity.

"Yeah, we are friends, Adam, but this is something that I'll have to deal with myself. Thanks for the offer though."she replied, turning to run after Weiss and talk with her. "No problem Ruby. Now go on. You've got an Ice Queen to find."Adam responded, with Ruby scowling at him for the nickname he gave Weiss. "Don't call her that. I'm sure she's a nice enough person once you get to know her..."she replied, seeming to believe her own fool's hope. Adam couldn't help but let out, "Well, let me know if that happens. Anyway, I'll catch you later Ruby," he said, running off before she could reply. Little did he know the thought that ran through Ruby's head at that moment: "That boy seems to care a lot about me. But we only met a few days ago. He couldn't have...could he?"

* * *

At least 15 minutes later, Adam had made it back to the room he shared with his team, who were all sitting on their beds studying. As he walked in the door, Ryan looked up and asked, "How did it go with Ruby?", ignoring the open textbook in front of him. Adam looked confused for a moment, before he clicked onto what his best mate was asking. "Oh, it went fine. I was just trying to see how she was feeling after that Schnee girl took a jab at her in class. Luckily, it was nothing serious, just the Ice Queen didn't get enough "Beauty Sleep" as she's used to."he replied, all three of his teammates looking at each other, the same thought running through their heads: "I don't buy it". Shannon decided to ask their leader what they were all thinking: "Are you sure that's all you talked about Adam, as we couldn't help but notice that you've been giving Ruby a lot of thought." Adam quickly caught onto the obvious implication of Shannon's question and replied, "What, me and Ruby? Don't be ridiculous! We're just friends and besides, we've basically just met!"he finished, standing up and heading towards the bathroom. "I'll be back out in a bit, I am stinking from the sweat of that boiling classroom!"he said, flinging his jacket onto his bed as he headed into the bathroom. Gazing into the mirror, he asked, to no one in particular, "I couldn't possibly be in love with her already, could I? I mean, I care a lot about what happens to her, but I'm like that with all my friends, even ones I've just met, like Kayleigh. I couldn't be in love with her, could I?"he repeated, before shaking his head to clear his thoughts and going for his shower...

* * *

At least ten minutes later, after Adam had finished his shower and long fell into a slumber, a few rooms away, in the dorm of Team RWBY, the girl who was on Adam's mind so much was still wide awake, picking at the petals of a flower she had plucked from the school garden earlier that day. As she picked off each petal, she thought to herself, "He loves me, he loves me not, he loves me, he loves me not". Before she reached the last petal, she was interrupted by her partner tapping her on the shoulder and asking "Ruby? Can I talk to you?", gaining a nod in response. "I've just been talking to Professor Port, and he made me realise that I haven't been the best teammate. But I intend to fix that. So, Ruby Rose, I, Weiss Schnee, promise to be the best teammate you will ever have!"she finished, making the glum look on Ruby's face change into a bright smile and she nodded, before both her and Weiss made their way to their respective beds and fell into deep slumbers. If only Ruby had torn that last petal on that flower...

* * *

"He loves me..."

* * *

 **A/N: So there we have it! Adam officially has a crush on Ruby. Will it come to fruition or will he shot down? Who knows! Like I said, I'm just going with what my brain conceives at any given time. So, if I do follow through with the Adam x Ruby pairing, which I have named Shadow Rose, you can expect a few scenes of just the two of them. Anyway, I believe I've kept you long enough. Until next time, this is Madman Roberto signing off!**


	4. A New Feeling

**A/N: We see a whole new side to Adam this chapter, so read carefully.**

* * *

CHAPTER 4-A NEW FEELING

* * *

After the complete shambles he was in the previous day, Adam awoke from his slumber with his mind relatively at peace, all the while thinking to himself, "Well I guess it's possible, but I'll give it time to see if my feelings grow a bit more and I get to know her a bit better". As he kept repeating this to himself, he had finished getting ready and was heading down to the cafeteria to get some breakfast before his first class. It was then that he saw that Team RWBY's door was ajar, and he decided to close it to prevent anyone peeking or sneaking in. As he was turning around to get down to the cafeteria to get him and his team breakfast, he numbed into a girl who was looking at him with an unmistakable scowl on her face. "Excuse me, but why exactly are you trying to open my team's dorm room?" she asked, staring straight at him with a glare that made Adam squirm a bit. "Oh, sorry! I didn't know that it was your room! I wasn't opening it, I was actually closing it to prevent anyone sneaking in!" Adam said to try and defend himself. The girl looked at him for few seconds, possibly to see whether or not he was lying. After gazing unblinking for about 5 seconds, the girl seemed to relax and said, "I guess I must have left the door open when I went to get my breakfast, I was in such a hurry. Sorry for accusing you!" Adam let out a sigh of relief; "At least she's not going to report me to the headmaster."

"It's alright. I understand how it must have looked. I was just looking out for my friend. She sleeps in there," Adam replied, causing the girl's head to jerk up. "Which one's your friend? The Ice Queen, The Brawler or The Speedster?"she asked. "The Speedster, although I do know the Brawler & Ice Queen as well. Anyways, since this whole misunderstanding has been taken care of, I'll be off now. Nice to meet you, Miss...?" Adam replied, rolling off the last word, due to the fact the girl didn't tell him her name. She caught onto this fairly quickly. "Oh, shit! Sorry! The name's Blake. Blake Belladonna."she said, extending a hand to Adam, which he took with a smile. "Nice to meet you, Blake. I'm Adam Robertson." he said, noticing her eyes flash when he mentioned his name. "Ah, so you're the mysterious boy that Ruby' s become interested in. She was going on and on last night about how she thinks some boy has already got a crush on her, and I heard her throw "Adam" around a lot." Blake said, trying to contain her laughter. Adam couldn't help but notice his cheeks get progressively warmer, as he said, "That obvious, huh?", while scratching the back of his head while looking anywhere but at Blake. "Don't worry...your secret's safe with me,"she said, before opening the door and walking inside, leaving Adam standing there, grinning like an idiot.

* * *

"So, Ruby noticed then, did she?" Adam thought to himself as he continued towards the cafeteria, luckily reaching it before bumping into anyone else he knew; particularly he was watching out for a certain, red haired, hooded girl. Not too long after getting his breakfast and sitting down at a table, he noticed that there was a small commotion going on a few metres away from him. Looking over, he saw that it was Team CRDL, acting like the big, stuck up arseholes they were, by obviously picking on a rabbit Faunus girl that Adam recognized as Velvet Scarlatina, who was a star pupil at Beacon, always giving correct answers to the teachers and making sure to always pay attention to them. But now, as cool and collected as she was in the classroom, she was shaking like a leaf here. "Evidently, this has been going on for a while. But I can't go up and demand him to stop." Adam thought to himself, begrudgingly turning himself around and going back to his breakfast. Not 5 seconds later, he heard Velvet scream, "Ow that hurts! Please stop!" Looking over, he saw Cardin had one of Velvet's ears in his grasp and was continually yanking on it, laughing his head off with each time she screamed. "That's it. He's going too far" Adam thought, a fire raging inside of him. He got up, walked over to CRDL's table, and growled, "I suggest that you let her go, Cardin, before you really do some irreparable damage to her." At this, Cardin took one look at Adam, and burst out laughing, stating, "Why would you protect a dirty little Faunus like this? She's pathetic!" At the word "pathetic" Adam couldn't contain his rage any more and said, "Says the guy holding her by an ear. If she's supposedly pathetic, what does that say about you?" At this, Cardin let go of Velvet, pushing her away, while raising himself from his seat. "You're going to regret that", he said, as he cracked his knuckles, Adam knowing he had pushed Cardin's buttons enough. "Let's hope his bark is worse than his bite..." was the last thought that Adam had before the first from Cardin sent him flying into another person's table. "Guess not." As he picked himself up off the table, he tasted something metallic in his mouth. Raising a hand, he felt blood on his fingers, as an evil grin showed on his face. "Now it's fucking personal..." he thought, cracking his knuckles. He noticed that all 4 members of CRDL were rising from their seats, which prompted him to step forward, cracking his right hand knuckles and his neck at the same time, while saying, "Alright, so who's first?" Team CRDL had no idea what kind of trouble they were in...

* * *

At that point, the rest of Team ARKS had just gotten up and were on their way to the cafeteria themselves. "I wonder whether or not Adam is in the cafeteria right now" Kayleigh said, which caused Ryan to reply with, "He probably is, if I know Adam, he can't resist from eating. I'm surprised he isn't like a human beach ball at this point. I guess his semblance causes him to burn through those calories faster than we can", which gained a snigger from Shannon and a smile from Kayleigh. Shannon replied with, "I guess some things never change...", just as they reached the cafeteria doors. Ryan twisted the door handle to enter the gargantuan room, but almost as soon as he had done that, he saw a flash of colour to his right & when he looked, he saw that Cardin Winchester had just been thrown across the room into the wall. "Oh God, please don't let that be who I think it is..." Ryan thought as he turned back around, but when he saw that his leader was taking on the whole of Team CRDL, the only thought that ran through his head was, "Dammit, I knew it would be him!"

* * *

Seeing Adam taking on a whole team at once made Kayleigh feel nervous for her partner and leader's wellbeing, which only got worse as a slight fumble on Adam's part led to Cardin's fist grazing the side of his head. As Adam was sent back a few feet, Kayleigh and Shannon stepped forward to help, but were blocked by Ryan throwing an arm out. "Don't bother; it's not worth risking your life by getting between Adam and his target. Believe me, I know." he said, gaining curious stares from the girls as a result. At that moment, they heard a sickening CRUNCH! as Adam was thrown backwards from Cardin pressing his advantage and sending him flying. As it turned out, his arm had been knocked out of its socket. To make matters worse, it was his good punching arm.

"Well Cardin..." Adam said, cradling his injured arm while having a large sadistic smile on his face, "You can certainly throw a punch. But it's a step in the right direction." he added, grabbing his arm and pushing upwards at the same time, popping his arm back into place with a bloodcurdling CRACK! At this, CRDL looked nothing short of horrified at the fact that Adam looked as if he enjoyed the process. Without even blinking, Adam growled, "Now it's my turn, and you're all going to be six feet under when I'm fucking done with you!", before activating his semblance and speeding towards the four bullies.

CRDL wasn't prepared for Adam to be making such a bold move, even with his aura repairing his injured arm. Adam seemed to click onto this and, instead of running straight into the bullies, instead flipped over them, landed on the ground behind them, whilst sweeping the legs out from underneath Russel, Dove and Sky, whilst Cardin could only watch in abject shock at what he was witnessing. Looking at his scroll, he saw his team's aura levels were all in the red, except for his. Deciding that trying to overwhelm Adam with sheer power was the best idea, even though he was down three teammates, he ran towards Adam with his fist pulled back, but unfortunately for him, it never made contact, as Adam had sensed him coming and grabbed his arm, pushed it up in the air, and as he was doing that, his other fist had made contact with Cardin's stomach, which winded him, but Adam wasn't done there. As soon as he saw the opportunity, he started to pound Cardin's face to a pulp with his fist, managing to continue even after Ryan and the rest of Team ARKS had decided he was going too far and tried to stop him from just straight up murdering Cardin. Pushing Ryan away from him, along with Shannon and Kayleigh, he returned to beating on Cardin.

* * *

Just at that moment there was a loud cry of, "ADAM, PLEASE STOP! HE'S NOT WORTH IT!", which drew Adam's attention towards the source, which happened be...Ruby Rose. "Adam, please stop. He's not worth it. Besides, I think he's had enough."she repeated, pointing towards Cardin's now mangled face, which was in extreme danger of having another punch brought upon it. Adam remained silent for a few moments, before nodding and releasing his hold on Cardin. But not before turning to the boy in question and saying, in an extremely low growl, "If I ever see you bullying another student in this school, I will not stop next time. Keep that in mind. Also, remember...you're still alive because of her."he added, nodding towards Ruby. With that, he wound his fist back and punched the boy one last time, knocking him out cold.

* * *

About 5 minutes later, and after the Headmaster was called down, Adam was sitting in the Professor's office, awaiting his punishment, whatever that would be. As he was sitting there, thinking through the events of the past ten minutes, he knew that he may have just blown his one and only chance he had to be a Huntsman. As Professor Ozpin came in, and sat behind his desk with his coffee mug in hand, Adam noticed that the older man seemed to be afraid of looking at him. Adam had to suppress the urge to laugh, as the whole idea was preposterous. The world famous Ozpin, slayer of Grimm and destroyer of evil, was intimidated by a mere first year pupil? The whole scenario was almost too much for Adam's already weakened mind to take.

"Well, Mister Robertson..." Ozpin started, only to be cut off by Adam, "If it's all the same to you, sir, I would prefer to be referred to as Adam. I feel titles only serve to paint a facade of people that is mostly wrong." At this, Ozpin nodded and started again, "Adam, we have reports that you attacked Mr Winchester after you saw him bullying a Faunus student by the name of Velvet Scarlatina. Is this true?"he asked, fixing Adam with a look that made Adam squirm a bit, as the look seemed to penetrate straight through him. Adam nodded, but also added, "Yes I attacked him, but not before trying to talk him out of it, and when talking to him failed, he punched me into a bench. I guess that's when I lost it. I have a history of anger control problems, which I'm sure you know about."he said to Ozpin, who simply nodded, motioning for Adam to continue. "Well, after that, my friends came in and tried to pull me off him, and it took a while, but they managed to make me stop. And you know the rest." Adam concluded.

"Well, Adam, I suppose you know that Mr Winchester and his team are now in the infirmary and will be in there for the foreseeable future?" Ozpin asked, looking at Adam, who only stared at the desk, as Ozpin's words caught him off guard. He hadn't given the state of Team CRDL a second thought. He thought that their aura should have healed them right away, unless...

"The 4 are receiving daily doses of a medicine that restores their strength and also replenishes their aura." Ozpin stated, as if he had just read Adam's mind. "Now, onto your punishment. Not only did you attack and cause grievous harm to fellow students, but the fight also caused damage to the walls and tables of the cafeteria, which have fortunately been repaired by Professor Goodwitch. Now, most would think that these results are worthy of a prison sentence. However, you are a minor, and thus can't be tried. Therefore, I am left with the option of..." Adam held his breath at Ozpin's last words, awaiting the word that would send him from Beacon, back to his home on Patch.

"Detention."Ozpin finished, which caused Adam to jerk his head up so fast he was certain he may have cracked it in a few places. "You're not kicking me out?"he asked in surprise, Ozpin shaking his head in response. "No, Adam, I'm not expelling you. Not that I'm saying Mr Winchester and his teammates deserved what they got, but to expel you would be a waste of my time and your talents in combat. So instead, you will have detention with me for the rest of the semester. After that, I hope we will never have this talk again. You are dismissed. You may now return to your dorm and get some rest." And with that, Adam got up and walked towards the elevator at the back of Ozpin's office, letting the lift doors shut before sliding down the wall in a heap. Only one thought ran through his head... "He's letting me stay."

* * *

As the elevator reached the ground floor, and the steel doors opened, he saw that someone was sitting on a bench waiting for him...Ruby. As she heard the doors open, she smiled when she saw that Adam was fine, before noticing that he was in a ball on the floor of the elevator. After helping him to his feet and to the bench she had just vacated, she sat beside him and asked, "How did it go?", to which Adam replied, "Well they're not kicking me out, as Ozpin thinks his time and my talents would be wasted, and I'm not going to prison, due to me being a minor, so he gave me detention with him for the rest of the semester, so I'm not sure whether or not I should be happy or scared." At this, Ruby smiled, because deep down, she knew she didn't want Adam to be kicked out. She cared about him. Possibly even liked him more than a friend, even though they'd only known each other a short while.

* * *

"So, got any idea on what your detention will consist of?"Ruby asked, with Adam shaking his head. "It's Ozpin, so I have no fucking clue. Sorry about the swearing." Adam replied. "You forget I fucking live with Yang, right? Foul language is just a part of my life." "Jeez...that bad?"Adam asked, with a smile on his face now that he knew the girl he liked wasn't completely adverse to a part of his personality. "It can be scary when she gets into an argument with our dad, but they are few and far between, so it doesn't make a whole lot of difference, but it still leaves a mark."she said, Adam nodding to show his understanding.

"I know how you feel. A few years ago, when my mother was still with us, she had a falling out with my older brother. I can't recall the specifics, but it seemed to me that he had betrayed our Mum and she was sick of him constantly lying to her. So that night they got into a huge argument, not knowing that I could hear every word. And some of the things I heard him say were horrible. They were that bad that I actually walked in there and told him to "pack a bag and get to fuck". He left not 5 minutes later. That was the last time I spoke to him. My mother passed away of a broken heart a week or so after. He never showed at the funeral."Adam said, wiping away a tear that had appeared. "I'm sorry. I probably scared the shit out of you this morning, and now I've got the nerve to be telling you about my sad past."he said, standing to go, but before he could, Ruby grabbed his arm.

"Adam, yes, you did scare me this morning, but if you think for one minute that I don't want to know what made you the way you are, then you're dead wrong."was Ruby's reply. "What I do want to know, however, is why did you stop hitting Cardin when I asked, and not anyone else?"she continued, Adam bowing his head. He should have known this would have come up. "Honestly, Ruby? I don't know. I guess, even though I've known you a short time, you've quickly became a person I trust more than any other."he said, Ruby smiling a bit at the fact that he considered her a person worthy of trusting. "Actually, I was wondering if it was because of another reason, Adam."she replied, with a look of confusion crossing Adam's face as she said it. "What other reason?"Adam asked. As he said this, Ruby shook her head, not out of denial, but out of exasperation. "He really is thick, isn't he? Guess I should...no,wait. What am I thinking?Ah, fuck it!"she thought to herself. With that she stood up, pulling Adam up with her, grabbed his collar and pulled him into a kiss. At first, Adam was surprised at this, but then he quickly became immersed in the kiss.

* * *

After they had to pull apart, as they were both needing air, Ruby simply said, "That reason." Adam was flummoxed by this, until he gained the ability to speak again and asked, "How did you know I liked you? I haven't been very talkative the past couple of days, Ruby." "Well, there was the obvious awkwardness when I was in the room, the general way you cared for me more than your own team at times, and Blake may or may not have told me everything about your little "encounter" this morning."she finished with a smile. "Oh, did she now? I'll need to have a word with her!"Adam said, also smiling. "So, where do we stand now?"he asked, clearly unaware of how to proceed. At this, Ruby could have facepalmed herself. "Well, seeing as we've just talked, laughed, and kissed, I think it would be safe to assume we are boyfriend and girlfriend, don't you?"was the question she posed to Adam, who, at the word "girlfriend" could have collapsed due the lack of feeling in his legs. "I suppose we are. So, remind me, what class do we have tomorrow?"he asked, not having memorised his timetable. "History of Remnant with Professor Oobleck."the red-hooded girl answered. "Alright then, I'll walk you down?"he asked, getting a small "You'd better" before he gave her one last kiss and she flashed away using her semblance, which also happened to be speed.

"What the fuck just happened? Did I just get into a relationship? Already? Fucking hell!"he thought to himself, as he made his way to his dorm, and he saw that his team had stayed up for him. Answering all of their questions, but omitting everything to do with the kiss and Ruby, Adam finally got enough time to get some sleep. "I think things have just started to look up around here."was the last thought he had before he fell into the arms of sleep.

* * *

 **A/N: Attention, all readers! The Shadow Rose has bloomed! I repeat, the Shadow Rose has bloomed!**

 **There you have it! One pairing down! I have no idea who the other pairings will consist of, but there will definitely be some Arkos or Renora in there.**

 **P.S:I would like to thank the readers who have liked and favourited this story so far. Shout outs to BlueThistle25, The Blind Writer and FanOfFanFiction820 for the reviews!**

 **Anyway, I believe I've kept you long enough. Onto the next chapter! Madman Roberto signing off!**


	5. Turn Up The Heat

**A/N: Annnnd we're back! Sorry it took me so long to update, guys, but writing this _chapter_ had really been hard work. I've had to deal with school (not the last few days), and Christmas has just happened, and I got an Xbox One and AC Syndicate, so I've been playing that all day, and I'm knackered! So, in a way, think of this as my (late) Christmas present to all of you!**

* * *

CHAPTER 5-TURN UP THE HEAT

After a particularly relaxing dream that had him drooling on his pillow, Adam was forced to get up when he felt a jet of cold water hit him in the face. "RYAN! WHAT HAVE I TOLD YOU ABOUT DOING THAT WHILE I'M FUCKING SLEEPING?"he roared, coughing a little as he had inhaled a large amount of the water. As soon as he had cleared his throat, he looked up to see all 3 of his teammates were looking at him, smiling. After his vision had cleared up, he saw that Ryan was in fact on the other side of the room, so he couldn't have been the culprit. "But that means..."Adam thought, looking around until he saw the empty glass in the grasp of his partner. "Kayleigh? Why would you do that? I mean, Ryan I expect to pull a stunt like this, but not you." She smirked a little before stating, "Well Adam, we only have about an hour and a half before History of Remnant starts, and if you're sloppy, it reflects on the rest of us, so c'mon! Get your lazy ass up and get ready!"

With that, Adam was gone in a flash, and before the rest of ARKS could even turn around, he was standing before them in his school uniform."Alright guys, I'll catch up with you after Oobleck' s class. I told Ruby I'd walk down to the class with her." As he said this, his team looked at each other and smiled, before turning back to him and nodding. "Great! I'll see you guys later!" he said before flash-stepping out of the room.

After leaving his dorm, Adam went to the room a floor above him, and as he reached it, he saw that Ruby was leaning against the wall, clearly anticipating his arrival. Adam cleared his throat to announce himself, startling Ruby out of the trance she seemed to have fallen into. "Oh, you made it, and just as I was beginning to doubt you" she said, giving him a quick kiss as greetings. He reacted by putting on a fake pout and saying, "Really? How could you, Ruby? I'm hurt..". She smiled and simply said, "C'mon you, we've got a class to get to." At that, Adam offered his arm, and she took his hand, and they walked to the classroom, chatting all the way there.

* * *

When they reached their destination, Adam nudged Ruby on the shoulder, and pointed ahead to their classroom door, where their friends were standing waiting for them. He then steered Ruby into an empty classroom around the corner."I don't know what they're going to say, Ruby. This is the part that's kind of scared me."he said, Ruby sighing and replying, "Don't be worried, Adam. I already told my team what happened last night, and they seemed to take it well, but I think Yang might want to talk to you", Adam shuddering a bit at the thought. This caused Ruby to giggle slightly. "Well, I wouldn't have thought it. The great and mighty Adam Robertson, terrified of a fellow first-year student? My big sister no less?"she asked, trying to suppress her laughter. "Can you blame me, after the way she made CRDL look in the hallway? She is formidable!"he replied, steeling himself before saying to his girlfriend, "Alright, let's go..." With that, they stepped out of the room, and walked down to meet their friends, Ruby taking Adam's hand and squeezing it lightly.

"Well, look who finally decided to show up! We've been waiting here forever!"Yang said, turning to meet the two new arrivals. "Yang, I told you I was going to be walking down with Adam, and we might be a little bit late than we were for Port's class!"was Ruby's reply. Just then, the bell rang, and the group consisting of Teams ARKS, RWBY, & a 3rd team that Adam recognised as Team JNPR, entered the room. Just as Adam was about to cross the threshold of the door, he felt a strong hand pull him back and slam him into the wall, and the hand, when he looked, was connected to a very angry-looking Yang Xiao Long, whose eyes had changed from their usual lilac to blood red.. "Right, Robertson, spill the beans. What exactly happened between you and Ruby last night? I know that you must have done something to her, as Ruby hasn't ever expressed an interest in people before, especially not the kind that nearly beat a man to death!"was the question she posed to him, with his back pressed against the wall.

"Yang, two things; One, I did nothing to your sister last night. Everything she did, including the kiss, she done of her own free will. Two, I know that the incident with Cardin would be enough to make you tear me limb from limb, for fear of me hurting Ruby, but I swear, I have absolutely no intention of ever hurting her. If I do, I deserve and will happily take any punishment you deem necessary."he replied, Yang letting out a deep breath, before looking at him again, and Adam was happy to see her eyes had changed back to lilac. "Alright, Adam, was it?"she asked, Adam nodding in confirmation. "Alright, Adam, one last question, then I'll let you go. Do you like her? Maybe even love her?"she asked. "Well, that's a tricky one. I definitely know I like her, or I wouldn't be dating her right now. But love her? I think I can, if given enough time. Is that all?", he replied, Yang nodding her head, lowering her arm, and standing back to allow Adam through the door. As he passed her, she grabbed his arm again and whispered in his ear, "You'd better fall in love with her quickly, then!" He smiled at this, and decided to act a little bit cocky by turning to her and saying, "I'll see what I can do!"

* * *

With his sense of fear alleviated a little, Adam stepped into the class, which would cover the many historical events that had taken place on Remnant. Pity a lot of students didn't take this class as seriously as they should have. Even Ryan, who Adam had always known to be able to stay awake through anything, started to droop off to sleep slightly halfway into the class. After the agonisingly long lecture, the bell finally rang, and Adam and his friends quickly grabbed their stuff and raced from the room.

"I thought Port was bad, but fucking hell!" was the first words out of Adam's mouth as soon as their group was out of earshot of Oobleck's classroom. Ruby piped up at this and said, "I agree. That class will be almost impossible to pass. Between Port rambling on and on about his early years, and Oobleck always off his tree on coffee, it will be a miracle if we're not driven crazy by the time we graduate!", causing the entire group to laugh, but not before Adam noticed Velvet Scarlatina, the Faunus he had helped yesterday, come up to them, scan their group with her eyes, spot Adam and hand him a piece of paper with a time, date and location on it.

"Professor Ozpin asked me to deliver this to the person who helped me yesterday. Thanks for that, by the way!"she said, when Adam looked at her confusingly. He then smiled at her, nodded, said "Anytime", and Velvet ran off to join her own team, which Adam had heard was Team CFVY, a team in its second year. Looking back down at the piece of paper, Adam realised that this must be where Ozpin wanted to meet him for his detention. He also saw a small piece of text handwritten in the corner, "Keep this pass with you, as the teachers will not let you out at this time unless you possess it." "Ah, shit! I have to meet Ozpin at Beacon cliff tomorrow night for my detention! And it's a Saturday, to boot!", Adam said, a little pissed off that his perfect day he had planned tomorrow was being overshadowed by this.

"Well, you do kinda deserve it, after beating a student half to death and causing damage to the cafeteria", was the snide remark that Weiss had let out, which caused Adam to turn on her, and reply, a little too angrily, "Oh, fuck off, Ice Queen!". This caused the girl to glare at him, before turning on her heel and storming off. Thankfully, Adam didn't wear the quiet "Wanker!"she uttered under her breath. At least, she thought he didn't, as Adam let out a second later, "I heard that!". This only caused her to speed up.

As Weiss vanished around the corner, Ruby turned to her boyfriend, pulled him into the old classroom they hid in earlier and said, a little angrier than she intended, "Why can't you just get along with her? She's done nothing wrong!" Adam sighed, and said in reply, "Well, Ruby, while you might try to see the Ice Queen's good side, I know exactly what kind of people the Schnees are. My brother worked for the Schnee Dust Company; he was the person who filed for the Faunus to be treated unfairly. Before that, he was a kind and peaceful person, but the SDC changed him. He became a shell, full of hate for the Faunus, and he ended up tearing our family apart! So that's why I have no love for the Ice Queen. Her father and his company are the reason why I am who I am. They're the reason I don't have a mum anymore." At this revelation, Ruby took a step back, looked at the ground, then back to Adam, who she noticed had clenched his hand into a fist so hard his knuckles were white, and said, "I'm sorry, Adam, I didn't know...", before Adam cut her off. "It's alright, Ruby. But it's not you I have the problem with. It's Weiss. I can't promise anything, but I'll try to be...nicer to her. For you."he said, Ruby almost tackling him to the ground as he said it. "Really?"she asked, Adam nodding in confirmation. "Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you! You're the best boyfriend ever!"she continued, grabbing him around the waist, as he was standing a step above her. "Well, I aim to please..."was the quip that he let out.

"Alright, c'mon! We have to get back to the others before they start to think the worst of what we're doing in here..."he said a few seconds later, as their hug finally separated. "Lead the way."was all Ruby said, gesturing out the door.

* * *

After rejoining their friends, and Teams ARKS and JNPR being introduced, they headed to the cafeteria, where they noticed that Weiss sitting by herself in a far corner of the room, meaning that she must have come straight here after her argument with Adam, and not back to the dorm as Ruby thought. After noticing her partner, she nudged Adam on the shoulder to gain his attention, then pointed to Weiss, saying, "There she is, Adam. You can start being nicer to her now by apologising." He shivered a little at this, because despite what he claimed, he was a little scared of the Ice Princess. "Alright, wish me luck!"was the last words he spoke before he went and got a tray of food for himself, then headed towards the heiress.

"Excuse me, is that seat taken?"he asked when he reached her, causing Weiss to look up, see who was asking, which caused her face to darken when she saw it was Adam, then simply look back down without answering him. Adam waited a few seconds, before deciding that he wasn't going to get a spoken answer from the girl in white, but as he turned to leave, she quickly said, without even looking at him, "What are you waiting for, a fucking written invitation? Sit down or fuck off already!"

"Great, just what I need. The Ice Queen's pissed. That would explain the drop in temperature. Damn, it's cold!"he thought as he quietly took his seat across from her. They sat there like that, both as silent as the grave, before Adam decided to try and break the ice. "Alright, I don't have a clever way of saying this, so I'm just going to put it bluntly. I'm sorry for what I said, Weiss. Truly, I am. Now I know that doesn't mean much coming from me, but it's true. I was in a bad mood due to the letter from Ozpin, and you were just trying to make a sensible observation, and I treated you badly. So, as much as you probably hate me now, that's all I wanted to say. I'm sorry. So if you're not going to say anything, I'll just be going now", he finished, getting up from the table and starting to walk away again, before he felt all feeling disappear from his left arm, and when he looked down, he saw that Weiss had his arm in a death grip. "I didn't say we were done. Sit back down before I make a new sculpture for this hall by freezing you solid."was the quiet words she hissed at him, before she sat back down, Adam following after her.

"OK, to start off, usually I can take all the insults people throw my way, but yours cut me more deeply than the others. Why? If I was to assume the worst, it would be that I've wronged you in some way or another, but I've never met you before a few days ago. So tell me, right now, what have I done to offend you?"she asked, clearly not hiding the venom in her voice. Adam took a deep breath, and then started, "Actually, believe it or not, you've actually not wronged me in any way...", which caused Weiss's face to scrunch up in confusion, before Adam continued,"It's your father I've got the problem with. He and the SDC, for lack of a better phrase, ruined my life. They turned my brother from a kind hearted person to a cold hearted motherfucker. He went from being friends with Faunus to being the sole reason they're now treated poorly at the SDC, which indirectly caused the death of my mother, so naturally, when I found out you were at Beacon, I thought you were like your father; cold, unkind and cruel to everyone. But I, with a little help from Ruby, saw that that might not be the case. So I want to start fresh. Clean slate. If you don't want to, due to me being a massive douche, I understand."he finished, spreading his arms to show that he had no more to say, and leaning back in his chair.

* * *

"Well, if what you say is true, then first, I wish to share my personal condolences, not those of the SDC, for the death of your mother. I know that doesn't mean much, but I hope this shows to you that I am nothing like my father...I am still capable of compassion. And second, your brother wouldn't happen to be Jamie Robertson, would it?"Weiss asked, causing Adam's head to jerk towards her, giving her an obvious answer. "You know him, then?"he asked, not even trying to hide his obvious distaste for his brother. "Not personally, but I know of him, due to him being the one who filed for Faunus to be treated poorly. If, and when I take over the SDC, I have made it a goal to reverse that law. I'm sorry. I didn't know that was your brother."she replied, looking towards Adam to show her sincerity. He smiled and simply said, "Don't worry about it, Weiss. You didn't know me at the time." Weiss simply nodded, and said, "Very well. Now onto this proposal of a "clean slate". While it will take a while before I can call you a "friend" again, I am willing to take you up on the offer." This caused Adam to smile, before asking, "So, how much of the bad feelings we getting rid of?" "Well, since it's been building up since we met, I suggest we go back to how we were on the first day, total strangers to one another." Adam nodded, then held his hand out for Weiss to shake, saying, "Well, we'd best make it official. Adam Robertson, pleasure to make your acquaintance, Miss...?", rolling off at the end, clearly acting silly to show how much he wanted to start over. This caused Weiss to simply roll her eyes, then shake his hand, saying, "It's Weiss. Weiss Schnee." At this, they released each other's hands then, out the corner of his eye, Adam saw their friends getting up from their own meals to leave. "We'd best get going then, Weiss. Wouldn't want to be late, would we?"he asked her, getting up and offering his hand to help her up. "No we wouldn't, Adam. Not at all."she replied, smiling, but also taking his hand and rising to her feet.

* * *

As they caught up with the rest of their group, Ruby pulled Adam to the back of the group, motioning for the rest of them to go on and they would catch up, before turning back to Adam and asking, "How'd it go?", before Adam simply leaned in said, "I owe you one. She is a scary person", before they ran to catch up with their friends.

* * *

Little did all of them know how much danger they would soon be in...

* * *

 **A/N: And thank fuck that's done! I have been working on this chapter for so unbelievably long, I'm actually surprised at how short it actually is. And quick note, to my personal friends BlueThistle25 & The Blind Writter, now you know why I called this one "Turn up the heat"!**

 **As for the "cliffhanger" at the end,I've had an idea in my head as to what the "danger" is, and let's just say, hearts will be broken, bonds will be tested, and blood will be spilled. But that will be a while in coming! So, as a cheerful note, the next few chapters will be my attempts at doing the story from a different character's perspective. I'm thinking Kayleigh or Yang. Leave comments as to what you think.**

 **I think that's all..MadmanRoberto over and out!**


	6. A Family Reunion

**A/N:This one's full of surprises, so what are you waiting for? Read on!**

* * *

 **CHAPTER 6- A Family Reunion**

After the chaos that was Adam making a new enemy out of Weiss Schnee, and later making up with her, the next few weeks at Beacon were relatively quiet for Teams ARKS, RWBY and JNPR. There was no word on when Team CRDL was possibly going to return to school, which was good news for Velvet Scarlatina, as she was the main victim of their harassment. This worked as a double edged sword for Adam, though. Putting CRDL in the infirmary meant that his fellow students knew to keep from angering him or his friends, but this meant that they treated him and his friends as social pariahs; not talking to them, pretending to not notice their presence, and ignore them when they tried to engage in conversation with them. Adam and his friends didn't mind terribly;most of them had grown up keeping to themselves, so only talking inside their group was fine with them, and so they ignored the other students.

* * *

This ignorance came to a head one day, at least a few weeks into the term, as while Kayleigh was walking behind her friends as they headed for yet another boring lecture with Port, a student barged into her without even looking where he was going, knocking her to the floor. After Adam had helped his partner off the ground, he turned to the boy who had knocked her down, with a look in his eye that the group noticed meant trouble. "She's waiting for an apology, mate", he said calmly, which everyone present knew meant he wasn't in a good mood.

And he wasn't; a day after the incident with Weiss, Adam had left for his first detention with Ozpin, and when he returned an hour or so later, he had a look of absolute rage on his face. He didn't stop to chat with the other three members of his team, except for when he growled "Goodnight" and went to bed. After that, Ozpin had been sending Adam notes, whenever the headmaster decided it was opportune. They would take place all over the school, from the cliff to the headmaster's office, and each time, Adam's bad mood would only grow. Which brought back Kayleigh's thoughts to the scene in the corridor.

"Why should I apologise to her?"the boy seemed to be saying, shaking a little as he knew full well who he was talking to. "She wasn't paying attention to where she was going!"he continued, clearly lying, as Kayleigh wasn't even moving when she was knocked down;she was talking animately to Shannon about the class they were about to have when the boy knocked her over.

"How could she have not paid attention to where she was going, when she wasn't even moving?"was the angry reply from Adam, who looked ready to give the poor boy a beating, but luckily, Ruby stepped in, put Adam's hand in hers, and whispered something in his ear that no one else in the group could hear. Kayleigh then saw Adam look at his girlfriend, smile, then turn to the boy and say,"Alright then, beat it! Watch where you're going next time!"

With that, the boy quickly decided to move on, but everyone present heard him say, "Catch you later, freak" as he barged past Kayleigh, and before anyone could blink, an arm had grabbed him and slammed him against the wall, and when they looked, it wasn't Adam, or even Yang who had him in a death grip against the wall. It was Shannon. "Now listen here, pipsqueak! I don't care who you think you are, but if I hear or see you acting this way to a friend of mine again, I'll break your goddamn nose, alright? Now fuck off!"she said, with a huge amount of venom in her voice, before flinging him to the side, causing him to fall to the ground. As the boy picked himself up, he muttered "Psychos, the lot of them!" loud enough for Shannon to hear, then she quickly turned on the spot and slammed her fist into his face, earning a CRUNCH! as she had indeed broken his nose, and sending him sprawling back onto the ground.

"Don't say I never warned you, dickhead!"she said, turning her back on the boy, who picked himself up and quickly vacated the scene, and turning back to her friends, who simply looked amazed at what she had done. "What? He asked for it!"she said, raising her hands in her defence. The only person who made any comment was Adam, who said,"Christ, Shannon. Remind me never to fuck with you!", which gained a chortle from Ryan, as he replied, "I think you would know that, Adam, due to personal experience...", which caused Adam to groan, and Shannon to smile as she remembered the incident five years ago, when she had all but broke Adam's nose. This caused Ruby's attention to perk up. "Do tell", she said, wanting to hear more about how her boyfriend got beat up, but Adam dismissed it with a wave of his hand, "I'll tell you later".

* * *

At that moment, the school's tannoy system went off, stating, "Would the group of Teams ARKS, RWBY & JNPR please report to the Headmaster's office immediately? Thank you!" At this, Kayleigh and her friends simply looked at each other in confusion, then to Adam, who quickly raised his hands to defend himself, "Don't look at me, I haven't done anything!" Ryan simply nodded his agreement with his leader's statement; they hadn't interacted with anyone outside of their group the past few weeks, so Adam couldn't have done anything wrong. "Well, there's no point in standing around wondering all day. We might as well go see what Ozpin wants," Weiss stepped up to say, causing the whole group to turn towards her before nodding in approval. With that, and a cheerful "Allon-sy!" from Adam, they set off towards the Headmaster's office.

* * *

A few minutes later, the twelve of them found themselves outside the elevators to Ozpin's office. Kayleigh noticed how both elevators were too small for all of them to fit, but they could fit half of the group each, which she pointed out to the group. They all murmured in agreement, and the redhead of Team JNPR, Phyrra Nikos, stepped forward to announce her plan; "I suggest that Adam, Ryan, Jaune, Ruby, myself and Weiss take the one on the left, and the rest of us take the one on the right." This caused Adam to clap her on the shoulder and say, "Nicely done, Phyrra!" With that, the group split into their respective halves and entered the elevators, which immediately sealed shut and started upward.

After the elevators had arrived, the group rejoined back up before stepping forward to stand in front of Ozpin's desk. Nobody dared to move, before Ryan nudged Adam forwards, due to him being the de facto leader of their group, more or less. "You wished to speak with us, sir?"Adam asked, trying to sound a little bit formal, but failing. Even Weiss picked up on his obvious attempt, which resulted in a patented Schnee Eye Roll. "Well, Adam, you might want to try and sound a bit more formal next time, if that was your first attempt", Ozpin simply stated, which caused Adam to bow his head; he knew that wouldn't work, he couldn't pull off formal.

Ozpin smiled a little, seeing the boy who was proving to be quite a little rebellious look so embarrassed, before continuing. "Well, you are correct. I do want to speak with you all. Now before any of you jump to conclusions, none of you are in any trouble", he stated, gaining a sigh of relief from the group. "I simply called you up here as I have a favour to ask, of all of you." This caused the group to look between each other in confusion, before Adam nodded and took a step back, allowing Weiss to walk up and stand in front of Ozpin. "What kind of favour, exactly?"she asked, just as formal as she had been taught to act.

"Well, as much as I wouldn't immediately turn to you twelve as an option, given your de-facto leader's history with other students..."he paused, looking straight at Adam, who simply turned his gaze away, before continuing, "None of the other students would take this task up, which left me with you." There was a barely audible sigh in the room, which turned out to be Adam, who simply said, to the shock of everyone else in the group, "With all due respect, sir, can you please just cut to the chase? I'm getting a little weak at the knees here..."

"Apologies, Mister Robertson, I shouldn't be much longer. I simply want to know if you twelve would be willing to accept another member into your group temporarily."Ozpin continued, causing his pupil's eyebrows to furrow. "What do you mean, exactly?"was the question that Jaune, Team JNPR's leader, asked. "We have a new student, who, like Miss Rose here..."Ozpin replied, nodding towards Ruby, which only caused Adam to subconsciously pull her closer to him. "Is transferring to Beacon ahead of the rest of her year", he continued. "Due to her amazing skills and potential, even though she is a year behind, we have decided that it is best if she is moved up from her final year at Signal to the first year at Beacon. Now, she doesn't have a team, so we can't give her a dorm, so she'll need to share a room with one of your three teams. Actually in fact, here she is now!"he finished, gesturing towards the elevators, causing the whole group to turn, and look at the girl who had just exited.

"Hello, everyone! Nice to meet you, my name's Libby!"was the energetic girl's greetings to everyone. Everyone stepped forward to meet the new arrival, except for one...Adam. He still was standing with the exact same look of shock on his face as when the girl exited the elevator. Kayleigh heard him say, under his breath, "It's impossible, she can't be here, not now..."

To make matters worse, Ruby had noticed her boyfriend's odd behaviour, and, looking over to Kayleigh, who nodded, they both approached the boy, who was absolutely speechless. Ruby was the first to speak, "Adam, what's wrong? Do you know her? Who is she?" This caused Adam to reply, under his breath, some ineligible muttering. Before either girl could question him further, the new arrival noticed Adam, who looked straight at her, before her face fell, causing her to walk towards him, stop in front of him, before quietly stating, "Hello again, Adam". At this, Adam took a deep breath before standing up straight and saying in reply, "Hello again, little sis... It's been a while..."

* * *

 **A/N:And the drama continues! Now, I know this is a short one, but this idea had been lingering in the back of my head for ages, and I needed a perfect time to add her in as a character. Don't worry, she'll be a major character and get caught up in the shenanigans that come along with being friends with Team ARKS! Also, this was the 1st chapter that didn't take place from Adam's perspective, so let me know how I did by reviewing, please! Anyways, I gotta dash, I am knackered! Madman Roberto out!**


	7. 99 Problems and a Sister Ain't One

**A/N: Again, don't read this, read the chapter! Go on!**

* * *

 **CHAPTER 7- 99 Problems and a sister ain't one**

The whole room was as silent as a grave after Adam had greeted Libby, before Ruby finally spoke up. "Your...sister?"she asked, turning to her boyfriend. He solemnly replied, "Afraid so. I was hoping to be able to get through this year without getting roped into familial matters, but it seems life really does have it in for me." "What are you doing here, Libby?"he continued, turning to his sister. "Well, Adam, if you were paying attention, which you likely weren't, you would have heard Ozpin say that I'm being moved up from my last year of Signal to start at Beacon. I was recommended for this transfer by Qrow Branwen himself!"she replied, causing both Ruby and Yang to turn towards her at the mention of Qrow Branwen. "You know Uncle Qrow? How is he?"they asked excitedly. "Yes, I know him, and he's fine. You two must be Ruby and Yang. He asked me to say "hello"to you two from him."Libby replied. Her reply had made Yang and Ruby burst into wide smiles. As much as Adam was happy for them, he still was on edge.

"Right, now that you've all been introduced, it is time for you to decide. Can Libby here join your group until we find a suitable team for her?"he asked, looking round at all of his students. "Well, it's really up to Adam more or less, considering that he's both the leader of this group in all but name, and it is his little sister we're talking about here."was the response from Blake, who had remained silent this whole time, mostly nodding at anything that was said. Her statement made all eyes in the room turn towards Adam, who looked down at the ground, mumbling under his breath, as if he wanted nothing more than to forget this whole scenario.

"Fine, fine! She can hang with us for a while! But as soon as she gets her own team, we're done. That seem fair enough to you, sir?"he said,turning to look at the headmaster at his question. "If that is what you deem appropriate, Adam, then that is what shall happen. I will start looking into finding a team for her. As of now, I believe you all should be discussing where Miss Robertson, I presume her surname is?"he asked, looking to Adam for confirmation. All he got in reply was a simple nod. "Well, she will need a dorm to sleep in, so I will let you twelve decide which one she will live in. Good day."he finished, taking a sip from his coffee. The group then saw that they had been dismissed, and so they returned to the elevators, Libby choosing to ride with Adam's group.

* * *

After the elevators opened again, and the students had filed out of them, Shannon decided to speak up. "Well, Libby, seeing that you're here, want a tour of the school?"she asked, which made Libby turn to her and reply, "Oh, yes please! I wouldn't want to get lost for my first class, now, would I?", which caused the whole group to laugh, even Weiss, which surprised Adam, to say the absolute least.

"Alright then, Shannon, Kayleigh, would you mind giving my sister a tour of the school? I'm sure you three can bond on the way", he asked his teammates, who nodded. As the trio of girls turned to walk off, another voice from behind Adam caused them to halt. It was Phyrra. "I'll come with you! It never hurts to have an extra person, aren't I right, Jaune?"she asked, turning towards her towards her team leader, who could only stammer, due to being caught off guard. This caused the entire group to laugh, in the case of Ruby, Yang, Libby and Phyrra, or groan, as was the case for the rest of the group.

"I swear, that boy's as thick as a rock if he can't catch onto the fact Phyrra likes him. I might have to manipulate the circumstances a little..." Adam thought to himself, as an evil grin appeared on his face. Little did he know that some his friends, mainly, Yang, Nora, Ryan and Ruby had the exact same idea.

"Well, unless no one else wants to join us, us ladies are heading off! C'mon! Allon-sy!"Kayleigh stated, the group of girls starting to head off. Adam turned as she said this and went, "Alright. Catch you in a bit. Hang on a minute...That's my line!"he exclaimed, but the four girls had already disappeared round a corner, even though Adam could swear he could still hear faint giggling. He was about to chase after them, before Ryan put a hand on his shoulder, saying, "Let it go, Adam. They're just messing with you." Adam then simply took a deep breath, then turned to the rest of the group. "Well, since they've basically ditched us, and we've missed most of the last class, what should we do?"he asked them. "We could go to the training ring!"Yang piped up, the rest of them nodding in approval. "I could go for some training!" Ruby said, which was the case for all of them. So with that, they headed towards the hall where the students could train their skills and abilities.

* * *

"Alright then, who wants to spar first?" Yang asked, after the group had reached the hall and changed into their combat gear. "I think the two lovebirds should go first!"Ryan immediately piped up, drawing all stares towards Adam and Ruby. Picking up on what Ryan meant, Adam simply shrugged his shoulders and went, "Alright, if that's the show you want. That alright with you, babe?"he asked, turning towards his girlfriend, who simply nodded in reply."That settles that, then. Ryan, you alright for being the judge?" After a nod from Ryan, Adam and Ruby stepped into the ring. Both combatants drew their weapons and waited for Ryan to explain the rules.

"This match will only end when either one combatant's aura gets into the red zone, or of a combatant decides to forfeit! Combatants, are you ready?"Ryan asked, turning towards the two in the ring. Ruby simply cocked the chamber in her weapon and said, "Ready!", Adam held his sword in one hand, with the main blade pointing at his girlfriend, and went, "Bring it on!" Ryan simply raised his hand and said, "On my mark!" There was an unmistakable silence in the air as everyone held their breath...

"Fight!"

Both fighters instantly activated their semblances, speeding towards the other, and all that could be made out from the blur of colour was the unmistakable clang of steel as Crescent Rose and Deathcaliber connected with hit after hit. After a few minutes of this, the two finally slowed to a stop, both panting extremely heavily, and with their clothes torn in some places. Looking at their scrolls, they saw that their aura levels were practically even, which was due to the fact that whenever one of managed to connect a hit, they would instantly regret it, as the other could connect a hit with their foot or elbow. Adam had counted at least two times where he had managed to connect a hit on Ruby, but his girlfriend had responded with a knee to the groin or an elbow to the face. Their fight had actually managed to draw a fairly large crowd to watch, and over the clashing of steel, Adam was certain he heard bets being placed on who would win, with the pot being a grand total of 150 Lien by the end. Even Ryan and Yang had thrown in bets.

"Alright, I'm seeing this is getting us nowhere, don't you agree, Ruby?"Adam asked the hooded girl, who simply nodded and replied, "Call it a draw?" Adam simply smiled and tossed his weapon to the ground, with Ruby following after him with Crescent Rose. This caused an enormous boo to erupt from the crowd, which was due to them not being able to divvy out the winnings of the bet. This caused Adam to turn to the student who was holding the bets of the crowd.

"Of course it would be you, Nora..."he groaned, after seeing it was his hammer-wielding friend holding the bag. "What did you expect me to do?"she said sweetly, trying to look innocent, but Adam saw through this and stated, "I would start paying that back if I were you, as I'm not particularly wanting a riot right now." She went to formulate a reply, but Ren simply put a hand on her shoulder and said, "Come on, Nora. I'll help you give it all back." With that, they headed to the other students, and started to pay back all the bet money. The best part, to Adam, was watching the faces on Ryan and Yang drop as they went to collect their money back. "You'll pay for this, Adam!"they stated after they had returned, which caused the boy to snigger. "Really, I'll pay for it?"he stated, before looking to his girlfriend, asking a silent question, receiving a sigh and nod, then quickly turning back round to Ryan and quickly kneeing him in the groin, causing the boy to fall to the ground. "There you go!"he said, with a smile on his face, while Ryan was curled up into the feral position at his feet. "Let it be known what happens when you bet on me! Don't waste your time!"he stated to the hall at large, before picking Ryan up off the ground. "Hopefully, you'll have learned your lesson now, right?"he asked, receiving multiple shakes of the head.

"Alright, now, who's sparring next?"he proceeded to ask the rest of the group, but no one felt like stepping up after the match they just witnessed. "Seriously, none of you want to train?"he asked in disbelief. "Well, when you're as skilled as you showed you were on the field, no one will go against you,"said a voice behind him, which, when he turned, was revealed to be Libby, as the group of girls had finished their tour and had come here to catch the rest of them. "Well, little sister, I'm sensing a challenge there!"Adam replied cockily, Libby simply smiling in response. "That depends, big brother. Think you can take the humiliation of being beaten by a girl a year younger than you?"she asked, causing a loud "Ohhhhhhh!"to erupt from the group and the surrounding students. "Adam, you have to accept it now! You going to take that?"Yang excitedly said, leaning towards the pair. Adam simply looked from her to his sister, and then to each of his friends, who nodded their approval of the challenge. He then turned back to his sister, and said, "Alright then, little sis! Game on!" With that, the siblings stepped into the ring, as Ryan stepped forward. "Same rules as last time, Adam?"he asked, receiving a grunt in reply. "Alright then, on my mark!"he shouted, raising his hand once more.

* * *

"May the best Robertson win!"Libby shouted, to her brother as they waited for Ryan to start the match. "Don't worry, I plan to!"was the simple reply he formulated, causing a smirk to show on her face. "Do me one favour, Libby...Don't hold back!"he said, also smirking. "Not in my nature!"she shot back, causing another "Ooooooh!"to ripple around the hall. She then reached behind her back, and pulled out a weapon that was extremely similar to Deathcaliber, except that the whole thing was bulkier, more packed together than Adam's variant. "Ah, shit!"Adam sighed, under his breath. He knew from the look of it that his sister's weapon could easily tear through his own sword, but it would vastly slow her down. "Taking potshots at her, cowardly the method may be, might be the only way I can beat her. This is going to be tricky."he continued, unsheathing his own weapon and getting into a battle position.

"Fight!"

Adam was caught off guard, as he was thinking of the best way to beat his sister, but he managed to duck out of the way, as the gargantuan blade of his sister's weapon upturned a floorboard or two where he stood previously. "C'mon Adam, make this a bit interesting, at least!"Libby laughed at him, pressing a button on her weapon, turning it into twin swords, which she grabbed, before slamming the hilts together. There was an unmistakable sound of clockwork machinery working, then the weapons new form was complete; a staff made up of two katana blades. "You have got to be kidding me!"Adam said in surprise,as he was not expecting that! "What's the matter, Adam? Scared?"Libby asked, spinning her weapon one handed. "Not one bit!"he shot back, quickly transforming Deathcaliber into its rifle configuration and opening fire on his sister, who simply kept spinning her weapon, causing every bullet to bounce off of it. "How did I know that wouldn't work?"he thought, as his sister started to get into a crouching position. "What the fuck is she doing?"was the final thought he had before he saw his sister wind the arm holding her weapon back. "She isn't...Yep she is!"he said, to himself, as Libby pulled her arm forward, releasing her weapon at the same time. Adam noticed that the way she curved her body while throwing meant that her weapon would spin, causing a mini hurricane of blades to hurtle towards Adam. Without even thinking, Adam simply sped towards the blades, and at the last second, slid across the ground on his knees, leaning the top half of his body as far back as it was able to bend. This caused him to slide under the weapon, and rocket towards his sister, who couldn't stop the flat side of the blade of Deathcaliber from colliding with her knees, which sent her to the ground. After slowing to a halt, Adam walked over to his sister, picked her up, and held his sword to her throat. This caused Libby to simply mutter, "You win. I forfeit!", shouting the last part to the hall at large.

"Since Libby has forfeited, that means Adam is the winner by default!"Ryan exclaimed, which caused a cheer to erupt from some students around the hall, and boos from others. Adam simply paid them no mind, releasing Libby, walking over to her weapon, which was embedded into the wooden fence surrounding the training field, and prising it free, throwing it back to his sister when it came clear of the wood. "Not bad, little sis. Not bad at all. C'mon, let's get out of here."he said, offering his hand to help her off the ground. "Thanks, Adam. That means a lot, coming from you."was her reply as she accepted the hand and was pulled of the ground. The siblings then returned to their friends, who were busy applauding their efforts. After a few more matches, which consisted of Ruby vs Jaune, Phyrra vs Shannon, Ryan vs Yang, Kayleigh vs Libby, Blake vs Ren & Nora vs Weiss, they decided to call it a break.

"Alright guys, I see that it is quickly approaching lunchtime, so we should probably start heading over to the cafeteria." Ryan noted, looking at his scroll to confirm the time, everyone else nodding in agreement. With that, after they had gotten changed out of their combat gear, they headed to the cafeteria, spending much of the time talking about the fights that had taken place. It was when they reached the door to the cafeteria that they received their second major shock of the day...

* * *

"Well, well, well...look what we have here, boys! The boy who thinks he's untouchable!"the sneering voice of Cardin Winchester stated, drawing Adam's gaze from his friends to him. "Hello, Cardin. I see you've recovered. Good to hear. Now if you don't mind, we're terribly hungry, so we'll just be on our way now."Adam said calmly, though his eyes were blazing. "Well, you see, I'm not going to let that happen. You took pleasure in making me and my team suffer last time we met, so now I'm going to make you and your friends suffer."was the bully's reply, his teammates laughing at his threat. At this, Yang went to throw a punch straight at Cardin, but was blocked by Adam throwing an arm out. "Don't bother, Yang. He's not worth it."he stated, turning to the blonde brawler. Little did he notice the blur of colour behind him, which, when he turned around, was revealed to be Libby running forward and delivering a powerful right hook to Cardin, sending the bully into a nearby wall. "Fucking hell, Libby!"Adam growled under his breath, releasing Yang and walking over to his sister, just as Cardin was picking himself up. "You shouldn't have done that, Libby."Adam said, leading her back towards their friends. As he was doing this, Cardin had got to his feet."You're going to regret that, you little bitch!"he growled, which caused Adam to turn back around, with nothing but hate in his eyes. In a second, and with a blur of motion, Adam had Cardin pinned to the wall using his forearm.

"Now listen here, Cardin, and listen well, for I'm only saying these two things once. First, yes, you lost the fight in the cafeteria, and yes, you ended up in the infirmary, but if you don't get over it, you'll end up losing something else. Second, I'm alright with you threatening me. You'll make me angry by threatening my friends. But you'll really piss me off if you threaten my little sister again. So get this through your extremely thick skull...Stay away from us, and we'll stay away from you. You got that?"he asked, Cardin looking like he wanted to retort, but after looking towards his team and then Adam's friends, he realised this wasn't a fight he could win, so he simply nodded. "Alright, thanks for that! Cheers big fella!"Adam said cheerfully, releasing Cardin, letting him fall to the ground. "Well, what are you waiting for? Go and get some food!"he said to his friends, ushering them into the hall. "ADAM!"Ruby suddenly screamed out, causing Adam to turn back around, resulting in him seeing that Cardin had grabbed his mace and was starting its downward swing. Instinctively, Adam sidestepped, then resorted with a few quick punches to Cardin, which sent him sprawling once again. "No second chances, Cardin. I'm that sort of a man."he growled to his enemy, before turning back around and following his friends into the hall...

* * *

 **A/N:Oh, come on, Adam! Give poor Cardin a break! Ah, hell, who am I kidding? Tear into him!**

 **Well, there's another chapter down, and this may be the last "peaceful" one, as I may introduce the "danger" next chapter. Please review stating what you think.**

 **Also, just so we're all up to speed on our latest arrival, Libby's character is almost entirely fabricated from nothing, as my IRL little sis is nothing like this. The only thing they share is the name Libby. That is it. As for her colour and semblance, she is always wearing the colour green, and her semblance is basically super strength. Now, I know that may not be too special, given that Huntsmen and Hunteresses are stronger than average people...(Looking at you, Yang and Nora)... but Libby blows them all out the water. Her symbol is the head of a gorilla.**

 **I think that's all I need to say, so, farewell my friends! Madman out!**


	8. Strings

**A/N: I'm getting tired of saying this. But just read the chapter!**

* * *

 **CHAPTER 8- Strings**

After that chaotic day, Adam and his friends had slowly but surely eased back into the social nexus. They had realised that if they flaunted what they were capable of in front of people, then they would be shunned. But if they kept up the appearance of normal, work a day students, then people would start to talk to them more. Cardin and his lackies seemed to take Adam's warning to heart, as Adam's group hadn't even heard of Cardin bullying a student, let alone trying to make them miserable. Getting Cardin to back off of the Faunus had drawn Adam the favour of Team CFVY, so the second years started to tag along with the others whenever possible. This of course, sparked numerous rumours around the school, such as whether or not Adam was organizing a "revolution" of sorts to take over the school, but this was quickly quashed by the boy in question, who said that while he would give the teachers a fight if they asked, he couldn't ever hope to best them in a physical confrontation, due to their years of experience.

Not only that, but the group had a few surprises inside its "Inner Circle", as they liked to call it. A few days after the Cardin/Libby incident, the group had gone down to breakfast, and were surprised to see both Yang and Blake walk into the hall, hand in hand. When they sat down, Yang said they had an announcement. "Blake and I are dating!"she said, receiving applause from everyone else in the group. After they had all said their praises for the pair, Ryan noticed that Adam was the only one who stayed silent about the whole thing. "Aren't you going to say anything, Adam?"he asked, his leader suddenly having every single pair of eyes in the group on him, before Adam simply smiled and said, "It's about damn time! I was wondering when it would happen!", saying his praise for the new couple. "Seriously, though, I'm happy for you two! You two deserve each other!"He said, raising his glass of juice, which everyone else present at the table mirrored. "Thanks, Adam! We were kinda scared that you..."Blake started, only for Adam to cut her off: "You thought I was a bigot? Nah, I'm alright with same-sex couples, just keep the lovely-dovey stuff for the dorm room, please?", Blake and Yang nodding in response.

Just a few days after that, Nora and Ren walked in and announced that they were also dating. The response was pretty much the same as it was for the "Bumblebee" couple, as their friends came to call them, except with more surprise, as Nora always said they weren't "together, together". "Well, Ren decided that he wanted to be something more, so here we are!"was the hammer wielder's response to the questions posed to the new couple. While everyone was congratulating the new couple, Adam leant towards Ruby and whispered, "One big giant love nest, this group, isn't it?", causing Ruby to laugh. Adam then sat back up straight and looked around at his friends. "There is no way that this could backfire on us. We all trust each other, and there's no hostility between us at all. This is the life."he thought to himself.

How wrong he was...

* * *

 **Elsewhere, in Vale's downtown district**

"Hey, boss! You might want to look at this!"one of the men wearing black robes said, handing his leader a tablet. On the device's screen, there was a video feed of the lunch hall at Beacon, where 17 pupils sat together, the one dressed in black being the one which caused the smile to appear on the leader's face. He simply waved his hand, _signifying_ his men to leave. "Draw them out."he growled.

"Well, let's see how the boy deals with his past coming back to haunt him!" He said to himself, crushing the tablet to dust.

* * *

 **Meanwhile, back at Beacon**

"Right, we'll catch you guys later!" Adam said cheerfully to the rest of the group, as they headed for their dorms, Libby tagging along with JNPR, as she had decided that she would sleep with them. Kayleigh and Shannon were at an "extra-curricular activity", so it was Adam and Ryan alone in the dorm tonight. As Adam caught Ruby walking past him, he gave her a quick kiss to say goodnight, before letting her go and entering his own dorm. Inside, he collapsed on his own bed, before looking back up and noticing that Ryan was at the desk he had "claimed" on the first day of classes. His hand was flying backwards and forwards over the paper in front of him so fast, Adam was certain he must have torn the page in a few places. "Jeez, Ryan, studying at this late an hour?"He asked his friend."It's not schoolwork, it's for Kayleigh."was the curt reply he got, as Ryan finished and held it up for Adam to see. As Adam looked closer, he saw that Ryan had been sketching a pair of gauntlets, with a phoenix engraved into the wristguards. There was also a Fire Dust crystal in the middle of each gauntlet.

"It's to help with her semblance."Ryan explained, Adam looking at him in confusion. "Ah, she didn't tell you, did she?"he asked, Adam shaking his head. "Well, I feel as if you should talk to her. It's a part of who she is, but I'm surprised she hasn't told you."Ryan continued, Adam nodding, the gears in his head already whirring away. Even though Adam was mostly a physically gifted person, he was quite acutely minded, being able to spot even the most minute details. Such as the small, but distinguishable, fly on the corner of the room that had been buzzing about all day, driving Adam crazy.

Without saying anything, Adam took the drawing, grabbed a pencil and scrawled in the words "Don't look. Pass over it. Left corner, far wall. Too big for an average fly, don't you agree?" Ryan simply used this to his advantage, pretending to lean back, exhausted, before looking towards the window, but in reality, he was looking at the corner Adam had designated, then quickly grabbing his own pencil and scrawling back, "I do. Think it's a threat?" Adam nodded, moving in front of the desk, so he was shielding a drawer from the fly's view. Opening it, he took the concealed throwing knife he hid there the night they moved in, then quickly spun and threw the knife at the fly, succeeding in cutting off its wings, causing it to fall to the floor.

Stepping over to where it landed, he picked it up and turned it over, before noticing that the "fly" had in fact been a drone, due to the camera lens in it's eye. There was also a red insignia which, when he drew it out, was revealed to be the outline of a panther head, with blood dripping from its fangs. "Someone's decided to bring their pets in, it seems!"Adam stated, examining the fly for further ways it could move, before he found a small switch, which he flicked, and the drone turned off.

"What was it made to do?"Ryan asked, unsure of what to do. "Record, as far as I can believe. This drone has been following us around all day, and it seems to have been focusing on me. Though, why I don't know."Adam said, placing the drone on the desk. "Who could have sent it, Cardin?"Ryan asked, Adam turning to him. "Oh, please, that idiot?"he said, laughing, before continuing. "He's lucky to be able to manoeuvre out his room in the mornings! Nah, this is way above Cardin. The only person who would want to spy on me, and be able to afford the technology needed to make this would be...No, it can't be..."he said, his brow furrowing in confusion, before turning to Ryan.

"When Kayleigh and Shannon get back, tell them we're all going out tomorrow. I'm going to see a man about a fly."he said, picking the drone up and placing it into his pocket, as well as the panther logo he had drawn earlier, before grabbing his jacket and heading out the door. "Wait, Adam there's still a...curfew on!" Ryan said to calm down his leader, but Adam had already sped away. "It couldn't be...could it?"he thought to himself, as he sat back down, before shaking his head to rid himself of the thoughts. "No, it's not. He's dead. I watched him burned his body. There's no way he survived..."

* * *

 **Back in downtown Vale**

"How could they have found the drone? You told me that they wouldn't find it! You swore on your life!"the black hooded man roared at his subordinate, who simply cowered in fear. "Master, please, I didn't know..." was all the terrified man could utter before the hooded one's sword cut open his chest, spilling his guts onto the floor."You swore on your life, and now it is forfeit!"He said, as his latest victim's body fell to the floor. "This boy has stood in the way of my plans for far too long! I will possess the other half! Even if I have to burn this world to the ground! It will be mine!"

* * *

 **Back at Beacon...**

Adam sped through the halls of Beacon, as he made his way towards the Headmaster's office. Somehow, remarkably, he wasn't stopped by a teacher, which allowed him to reach Ozpin's office in little to no time at all. After calling an elevator, Adam stepped into the office, where Ozpin looked like he was ready to turn in himself, but looking up and seeing Adam standing before him, he quickly composed himself and calmly said, "Well Adam, I'm surprised to see you up so late. I can see by your face that something is troubling you. Please sit down and tell me." Adam then took the offered chair, and took a deep breath before starting to recall everything in the past few minutes. After he had finished his rambling, he took both the drone and the insignia drawing out of his pocket and passed them over the table.

Ozpin picked up the drone first, and gazed at it for a second, before finally asking, "And no one you know at this school would be able to build this?", to which Adam replied, "Not without outside help, and the drone you're holding has all the signs of being made by the one person. And I bet none of the students are affiliated with a group that has an insignia like that,"pointing at the drawing. Ozpin gave it a quick look over, before Adam swore he saw his headmaster's eyes go wide, but it could have been a trick of the light. "Um, sir? Do you know this group?"Adam asked, almost afraid of the answer. "I'm afraid so, Adam. This insignia, although it has seen many forms, has always led back to one group...The Slicing Talons." At Ozpin's words, Adam started to pay a bit more attention.

"The Talons are a splinter group of the White Fang, that is made up of humans and Faunus, that believes that the methods used by their former compatriots are too soft, too feeble. They are willing to even wipe entire cities off of the map. They don't fight for Faunus rights, as the Fang does, and they certainly don't care about who they hurt. They do not distinguish between their target and those who get in their way. They are truly, the personification of evil. Now I find out that they are stalking one of my pupils. Adam, can you think of anyone who has a personal vendetta against you, bad enough to join the Talons?" Adam thought hard for a second, before finally stating, "Well, there was a boy a few years ago who tried to kill me and Ryan, but we killed him in self-defence, so apart from him, I can't think of anyone who would have that bad a hatred for me." At this, Ozpin nodded. "Very well, Adam. Thank you for bringing this to my attention. If any more of these turn up, please don't hesitate to bring them to me. Now, if there's nothing else you'd like to ask, I suggest you return to your room and get some rest. From what I hear, you'll need your strength tomorrow." Adam simply nodded, before walking to the elevators. Turning back to Ozpin, he said, "Goodnight sir.", which was returned with a "Goodnight Adam." With that, Adam stepped into the elevators and began the long trip back to his room.

As he reached the last set of stairs, he heard an all too familiar voice. "Well, well, look who we have here, lads! The fearless leader, all alone, in the middle of the night!" Turning towards the voice, he wasn't surprised to see Cardin and his friends walking towards him. "Hello, Cardin. I don't know what after here, but I'm not in the mood for your shit right now, OK?"Adam said, knowing Cardin was trying to provoke him, but managing to use his remaining self-control to keep calm. "Well, you see, Robertson, that's the part I don't like or care about. Now, team CRDL is the best team there is, but there's just a few problems:mainly, you and your loser friends. So I'm going to make you an offer: break up your little group, and leave Beacon, or things will get much worse when it comes to us." Cardin said, laying a hand on Adam's shoulder, which caused Adam to reflexively grab Cardin's hand and dislocate it with a flick of his wrist, while saying, "Not gonna happen, Cardin." As Cardin yelled in pain, Sky, Dove and Russell had pinned Adam to the wall in a flash. "That wasn't a smart move" Cardin said quietly, before ramming his one good fist into Adam's stomach, winding him, before delivering multiple punches to Adam's face. After the onslaught, Adam fell to the floor, spitting out a glob of blood that had formed, due to him being caught off guard by Cardin's attack. As Cardin's lackeys released him, he saw, through barely open eyelids, Cardin pull out a metal rod, before raising it high above his head. "Any last words, Robertson?"Cardin asked, Adam simply glaring at him and growling, "You'd better hope the first one knocks me out!", before the pole came down and his vision went black...

* * *

 **A few hours later...**

Ryan simply sat on his bed, and waited for his leader to return. Kayleigh and Shannon had come back from wherever they were, and Ryan had informed them of what Adam said. They both were excited at the idea, and told Ryan they would be up early, before they fell asleep, tired from their activities. That was almost three hours ago, and Adam still hadn't returned. Trying to call him on his scroll hadn't worked, so Ryan thought that Adam would return when he was ready, and so he decided to get changed into his pajamas and get some sleep, but almost as soon as he had done that, his scroll started to beep, signifying that he was receiving a call. Picking it up, he saw the unfamiliar number of the caller, but it was a Beacon number. Answering it, he said, "Hello? Yes, this is Ryan Clougherty. Yes, he's my roommate. What? Ok, what room? Ok, thank you. Oh, and word of advice, don't touch the arms. He'll kill you if you do when he wakes up", before throwing his phone back to his bed and rushing to get changed back into his casual clothes. The commotion he was making ended up waking Kayleigh and Shannon. "Ryan, what's wrong? You've never looked this distressed before" Kayleigh asked. Ryan quickly explained what had happened, causing the girls to move almost as fast as he did, and when they were all ready, they sped out the door.

After running for Dust knows how long, they finally arrived at their destination, the medical bay of Beacon Academy. Heading to the receptionist, Ryan said, "Hi, we're here to see Adam Robertson. We heard he had arrived here a minute or so ago." The lady behind the desk quickly typed in the required information, then turned to Ryan and said, "Ward 3. You're lucky he's still alive. His injuries were more than enough to kill a normal person." Ryan simply smiled in response. "Adam's too stubborn to die", he said, turning and leading Kayleigh and Shannon towards the correct ward.

As they approached, they saw that Professors Ozpin and Goodwitch were speaking with one of the nurses. As they heard the students arrive, they turned to greet them, both wearing grim expressions. "Hello, you three. It's good to see you're alright, although I wish it was under happier circumstances."Ozpin said in a low voice, Ryan simply asking, "How is he? For the sake of the people in this building, don't sugarcoat it",surprising everyone else present. The nurse stepped forward and said, "He's alive, but he's unconscious. Three of his ribs were knocked out of place, but his aura, or what was left of it, healed them. The process would have been painful, but thankfully he didn't feel a thing, due to being unconscious. The only damage I haven't assessed is the arms, due to another nurse telling me not to touch them." Ryan simply nodded, let out a deep breath, and asked, "So, do we know what did this to him?" Goodwitch simply shook her head, saying "The first, and most obvious answer would be Grimm, but we've no reports of any Grimm being that close to the school. That, and given the fact that Grimm eat their victims, make it seem the only possible culprit is either an adult or a fellow student." "Ryan, if you know someone who would want to do this to your leader, now's the time to tell,"Ozpin said, causing Ryan to think about possible suspects. "Well, the only answer I can think of would be Team CRDL. They've had it out for Adam since he mocked Cardin in the Emerald Forest. If it is them, I never thought they would do something like this." Ryan stated in response, Ozpin and Goodwitch looking at each other, then nodding.

"Well, we'll leave you alone now. It seems that we have some new suspects to talk with. You can go in and see him."Ozpin said, starting to walk away, the nurse and Goodwitch following him. "Ok, thank you, sir."Kayleigh said, before turning back to Ryan and Shannon and asking, "Do you really think it was CRDL?" Shannon was the first to answer, shrugging her shoulders, and saying, "I don't know. They have been making life hard for us since we met, but I would never have imagined they'd do something like this." Ryan simply stated, "They'd better hope I'm wrong, or I'm going to rip them apart." With that, he turned the doorknob and entered the ward to a shocking sight...

* * *

Adam was in the middle of pulling a shirt over his head, despite being reported unconscious. "Oh, hey guys, what are you doing here?"he asked, upon hearing the door open. "What the fuck happened to you, Adam?" Ryan asked. "Cardin jumped me on the stairwell as I was returning from Ozpin's office. He gave me the choice of disbanding our group, or things would get worse for us, due to his misguided belief that his team is the best in the school. When I refused, he knocked me unconscious with a metal pipe."Adam explained, Ryan nodding his head as he finished. Kayleigh and Shannon were shocked, they couldn't imagine CRDL being so evil. "Adam, you can't do anything with your arms like that", Shannon stated, pointing to the bandages around Adam's limbs. "Bah, please, little more than a scratch! Hang on", he replied, grabbing his arm, and shoving it back into place, just as he had in the fight in the cafeteria, then doing the same on the other arm. Kayleigh and Shannon look repulsed at Adam's self healing method. "Doesn't that hurt at all, Adam?" Kayleigh asked, her partner shaking his head. "You get used to it. Now, I've got work to do, so I need to dash."he said, turning back to the shirt he had thrown to the bed.

"What are you planning, Adam?"Kayleigh asked, although she thought she already knew the answer. "What am I planning? Well, I'm going to find Cardin, and I'm going to kill him. If any of his team try to defend him, I'll tear them apart as well."he responded, throwing his shirt on with a flourish. "I'm coming with you, Adam."Ryan stated, but Adam shook his head. "No, Ryan. I want you three to go to the library and find anything you can on a group called the "Slicing Talons". They're apparently the ones who let that drone in. Besides, this is a personal matter."he finished, shoving the clothes he had discarded into a basket near the door for cleaning, before using his semblance and speeding away. Looking confused for a second, Ryan and the girls quickly shrugged their shoulders and headed out the door.

* * *

Just at that moment, Team RWBY was heading down to the cafeteria, alone. Usually, they walked down with Teams ARKS & JNPR. But today, they were shocked to find that both team's dorms were empty, so they headed down to breakfast themselves, wondering what could have happened. As they entered, they saw that Teams CFVY & JNPR, as well as Libby, were already present at their table, so they got their food and joined them. When quizzed about their absence, JNPR had to defend themselves with, "Nora knew it was pancake day, so she dragged us all out early." Looking around the hall, Ruby saw that there was still no sign of Team ARKS. Being reassured of her boyfriend's safety by Libby, Ruby looked back down at her plate, before she heard the familiar sneering voice of Cardin Winchester. "I wouldn't be too sure of lover-boy's well-being, as I heard he ended up in the hospital last night."the bully said, which caused half of the group to rise from their seats, before lowering back down, with smiles on their faces. "Oh, you sure about that, Cardin?"Yang asked, nodding at a presence behind the boy in question. Turning around, Cardin saw the boy who he attacked last night standing before him, with the same sadistic smile that he wore in the fight against CRDL a few weeks ago.

"Hello again, Cardin. I thought I would find you here. I have a score to settle with you. But first, back the fuck away from my girlfriend."Adam said, cracking his knuckles. "And what are you going to do, Robertson, eh? Think you can take me on? Bring it!"Cardin said, clearly provoking Adam, who simply sniggered, before becoming a blur of colour, which slowed down to show Cardin groaning on the ground, and Adam not even having a scratch on him. "Never try and put me six feet under again, Cardin. Next time, I will kill you."Adam growled, before he raised his foot and knocked Cardin unconscious. "Asshole."he growled, before dragging him across the hall to Team CRDL, growling the same warning to the other 3 bullies.

After returning to his friends, Adam said, "Right,that's one thing done for today. Now, my team and I are going out for the day, so we'll see you all later.", his friends nodding in approval. Adam and the rest of ARKS had been working non-stop the past few weeks, so they felt their friends deserved a break. "Alright, we'll hold the fort, Adam. You four have fun!"Phyrra said, Adam nodding to his Amazon friend, before quickly giving Ruby a kiss and speeding off to the library to find his team.

* * *

A few minutes later, and after getting stopped by a very concerned looking Professor Goodwitch, who was swayed by Adam saying he would report any problems he experienced, he found his team poring over a large book, clearly taking his suggestion seriously. "Adam, look at what we've found." Ryan said, pushing the book towards his leader, who caught it one handed, and his eyes went wide as he recognised the panther insignia he found on the drone. "Not bad, you three. But everything in this passage, Ozpin already told me earlier. Nevertheless, we'll sign this book out, and we'll take it to the dorm, then we can head out for our Team Day. Sounds good?" Adam asked, getting smiles as a result. "Alright then, let's go! Allon-sy!"

As they headed out the academy's main entrance, they failed to notice the group of robed students watching them, as the leader of the the hooded people withdrew a scroll from his pocket, and sent a message to his master, which consisted of "Other half on the move." Quickly, he got the reply of "Tail only. Do not engage."

* * *

 **At that moment, back in downtown Vale...**

The leader of the black robed men put the scroll back into his pocket, laughing at the same time. Turning to his subordinates, he stated, "All our hard work will finally be realised, gentlemen! Today, is the day our greatest enemy falls. By this time tomorrow, the Slicing Talons will be the most feared organization on this planet! So prepare yourselves, my soldiers, for tonight, you dance with death!" As his men cheered, the leader turned back to the wall, filled with pictures of the same person, the one who he had tried to kill, over and over. "The boy thinks he is safe, that the strings attached to him by Ozpin protect him. Little does he know, there are no strings on me..."

* * *

 **A/N: Dun, dun dunnnn! This story keeps getting better! And yes, I did steal the last line from Age of Ultron. It just seemed to suit the scene. Trust me, this plot still has a lot left to cover, so brace yourselves! Madman out!**


	9. Burning Heart of Fire

**A/N: This is where the story really picks up, so read on! Enjoy!**

* * *

 **CHAPTER 9-Burning Heart of Fire**

"So, Adam. Where do you want to go?"Kayleigh asked, her partner smiling. "It's up to you three. I'm happy to go along with whatever you come up with. Just don't let it involve me singing or dancing."he said, his smile falling at the evil grins on the two females. "Oh, shit!"He groaned before both him and Ryan were being yanked along by their partners. "Adam, if we survive this, I'm going to kill you!"Ryan growled to his friend, before turning back to keep his eyes on what was in front of him. "Oh, quit your bitching, Ryan! It'll be fun!"Kayleigh said, nearly parting Adam's hand from his arm with the grip she had. They continued down the street, nearly giving Adam a concussion, due to the amount of lampposts he collided with. Thank Dust he had the sense to keep his aura up.

* * *

After a few minutes of running, they stopped outside of a karaoke bar, which the two girls quickly hauled them into, despite their protests. "C'mon girls, really?"Adam asked, before he and Ryan were pushed into a booth, the girls entering after them. "You said you'd do anything we came up with, so suck it up, Adam, and sing!"Kayleigh said, thrusting a mic into her leader's hand. Looking at Ryan, Adam simply shrugged and said, "Fuck it! The quicker we get this done, the sooner we can get out of here. But I'm only doing one song alright?", with Kayleigh smiling and nodding. "Alright, what song am I butchering then?"Adam asked, Kayleigh turning to the karaoke machine and selecting a song. Turning back to her leader, she asked, "What about the explicit version of I Burn?", causing Adam to smile and nod. Little did his team know this, but Adam knew this song back to front. He was fairly confident that this should turn out well for him, except the song required two singers. Pointing this out to Kayleigh, she quickly grabbed a second mic and started the song. "No problem, Adam. You're going down!"she stated, Adam shrugging and responding with, "We'll see", as the song started. Kayleigh noticed that it was her turn to sing, so she quickly gained her composure and sang along.

 _Come at me, and you'll see,_

 _I'm more than meets the eye._

 _You think that, you'll break me,_

 _You're going to find the time,_

 _You're standing too close to a flame that's burning,_

 _Hotter than the sun in the middle of July,_

 _Sending out your armies, but you still can't win,_

 _Listen up, silly boy, cause I'm gonna tell you why..._

At this point, Adam decided to join in, just to spite his partner.

 _I Burn!_

 _Can't hold me down,_

 _You got nothing that can stop me now,_

 _I Burn!_

 _Swing all you want,_

 _Like a fever I'll take you down!_

As the song entered an instrumental interlude, Kayleigh, Shannon and Ryan were looking at their leader in shock, Adam simply smirking and gesturing towards the screen, signalling Kayleigh to continue singing.

 _Reign supreme, in your dreams._

 _You'll never make me bow._

 _Kick my ass, I'm world class,_

 _And Super Sayain now!_

Adam then joined in again, just for personal fun this time.

 _You're starting up a fight that you just can't finish,_

 _Watch the little hearts while they scrape you off the floor,_

 _Bringing out your rockets, well shoot them up baby,_

 _High as you can go, but I'm the one who's gonna soar..._

 _I Burn!_

 _Can't hold me down,_

 _You got nothing that can stop me now,_

 _I Burn!_

 _Swing all you want,_

 _Like a fever I'll take you down!_

There was no musical interlude this time, which meant Kayleigh had to continue singing.

 _It doesn't have to be this way,_

 _Let's kiss and make up and you'll learn,_

 _You can't fight your life away,_

 _I get what I want, so don't bother and just watch me burn!_

At this section, Adam took over from the singing, and caused his teammates jaws to drop, considering that this part was a rapping sequence, as well as being super hard to keep up with.

 _Hotter than the sun, feel my fire,_

 _Pyromaniac, my desire,_

 _Thought that you could see the truth,_

 _Till I just burnt down the booth,_

 _Human Torch can't fuck with me,_

 _Johnny Blaze, suspect B,_

 _Strike them quick, lightning fast,_

 _Melt them bitches down to ash!_

 _Gasoline, Kerosene,_

 _Strike a match, ignite the scene,_

 _Shit will never be the same,_

 _Feel the fury of my flame,_

 _Beg for mercy, it won't help,_

 _Embrace the ending you were dealt,_

 _Seems you fucks will never learn,_

 _Now sit back and watch me burn!_

During the brief interlude after this rapping sequence, Adam simply leant back and smiled, knowing he had just blown his teammate's expectations out the water, before joining in with Kayleigh for the finale.

 _I Burn!_

 _Can't hold me down,_

 _You got nothing that can stop me now,_

 _I Burn!_

 _Swing all you want,_

 _Like a fever I'll take you down!_

 _I Burn!_

 _Can't hold me down,_

 _You got nothing that can stop me now,_

 _I Burn!_

 _Swing all you want,_

 _Like a fever I'll take you down!_

As th the song ended, the room was in complete silence for a moment, as the other three members of ARKS were still trying to comprehend the fact that their leader could sing, especially the rapping part. Standing up and replacing his mic on the table, Adam leaned over to Kayleigh and whispered in her ear, "Haven't you learnt by now? Don't ever underestimate me, you're bound to lose!", smirking as he pulled back.

"Well, seeing as we've just been remarkably surprised by our leader,"Shannon started, Adam taking a bow with a smug grin on his face, "We really don't have to spend any more time here. Unless we should put Ryan through this same thing?"she finished, Ryan's face dropping, before Adam held up a hand, stating, "Actually, I know of a better way we can humiliate Ryan. Come with me!"He said, heading out the booth, paying for his team's time in there as he did so. Looking at each other, the remaining members of ARKS shrugged and followed him.

* * *

After running to catch up to Adam, who was waiting for them outside another building a block away from their previous location, they saw a flier on the door that stated, "Dance Night, Bring a Partner!", which caused Ryan to look at Adam in rage. "Ryan, I got put through the torture of singing, so you're getting put through the torture of dancing. It's only fair!"Adam said, pushing his friend inside, his teammates following him.

As they stepped onto the dance floor, they saw that there were people of all ages here, so Adam took the opportunity to rip into Ryan a little. "Hey, Ryan, look, even little ones are getting into this. That's got to be bad for image, right?"he said, Ryan looking daggers at him, as the host of the dance night stepped onto the stage to welcome everyone.

"Thank you all for coming! Now, we're going to start out with a nice waltz, so men, grab a female partner, and get ready to dance!"the host said, Adam taking Kayleigh's hand, placing his other on her waist, before looking over and seeing Ryan do the same to Shannon. Noticing that Ryan was fixing him with a glare of pure malice, he turned back to his partner and said, "This should be fun, shouldn't it?", as the song started up and the couples began to move around the floor. "Apologies in advance. I'm not as good a dancer as I am a singer, I'm afraid."Adam said to Kayleigh, causing her to smile, saying, "I'm not terribly efficient, myself.", before the music caused Adam to spin her around and pull her back in. Looking over to their companions, they saw that they were keeping up, but it was clearly unfamiliar for them to be dancing. Luckily, as the time wore on, all four gradually became much better at the dance, as the pace of the music increased, they noticed they were actually turning heads, as they were clearly outclassing the other dancers with how they managed to keep up with the music. As the climax of the song approached, Adam and Ryan spun their respective partners away from them, before the girls spun back towards them, causing the boys to catch them, dip them, then pull them back up, so they were almost touching noses. As the room around them applauded, ARKS burst out laughing, as they couldn't have imagined being good at dancing in any way.

* * *

"Well, as fun as this has been, I'll be back in a minute."Adam said to Kayleigh, causing her to take her hands off of his shoulders, as he headed to the bathroom. As he entered, he saw a huge man, just exiting, standing back to allow him to exit first. After he had "relieved" himself, he was washing his hands at the sink before he looked up, and saw the giant man in the mirror, a knife in his hand, pointed at Adam. "Don't shout, or you die!"the man said, Adam simply raising his hands, and nodding. "What do you want?"Adam asked, the man moving closer to him. At this distance, Adam could smell tobacco on his breath. "I'm not doing this for me."the man said, throwing Adam for a loop. "You've pissed off a lot of people, and now you're getting your comeuppance!"he continued, starting to raise the knife, but he clearly didn't know who he was up against, as Adam quickly flash-stepped away from him, causing him to slam his hand into the sink he was previously standing in front of, also causing him to drop the knife. Without hesitation, Adam slid across the floor to it, picked it up, and turned, just in time for his assailant to ram him into the wall, pinning him there by his throat. Adam seized the opportunity, ramming the knife into the man's arm, but the brute simply yanked it out and threw it to the side, before shouting, "It'll take more than a knitting needle to fuck me up, boy!"at Adam, before flinging him towards the bathroom door, sending him through it and back into the main club.

As the sound of the bathroom door breaking open, accompanied by Adam flying through it into a glass table, caused people to run out the club, the remaining three members of ARKS rushed to help their leader, who had suffered yet another dislocated arm. "This is becoming a habit..."they heard Adam say, as he performed his self medication, before the remainder of the bathroom door flew over their heads. Looking round, they saw the giant man striding towards them, before he stopped and growled, "I was told to eliminate the leader, but to leave you alive. So stand aside, and I'll let you live." "You want us to let you kill our leader? Not a fucking chance!"Shannon said, getting into a fighting stance, Ryan and Kayleigh mirroring her. This caused the brute to simply smile and state, "You really are loyal to him, aren't you? This should be an interesting story for the Talons to hear." At the word "Talons", the whole of Team ARKS looked at him in shock, causing him to smile. "Ah, you've heard of them. Good. Just to let you know, they always get what they want, so don't get in their way. You'll end up killed."he said, as they heard the unmistakable sound of helicopter blades. "Ah, seems my ride is here! Guess I'll have to kill you another time! Farewell, Adam Robertson!"He said, running out the club, but not before turning back one last time, and dropping a red canister onto the ground. "Bomb!"Adam shouted, pulling his teammates behind a table, just as the bomb went off.

* * *

Shrapnel and splinters of wood went everywhere, as the door blew off it's hinges, and everything else in the room was sent flying backwards, Team ARKS included. As they picked themselves up off the floor, they saw the doorway was blocked by a circle of flame, which none of them can get through. "What do we do, Adam?"Shannon asked, coughing as the club was filled with smoke. Just as she asked the question, they noticed that there were a number of men with rifles walking in. As they pointed the rifles towards the students, a length of flame came from behind them and impaled one of them in the back, before dissipating. This caused the rest of the men to scream in horror, as their friend died burning to death, and caused ARKS to look towards Kayleigh, who had her hand outstretched and looked to be controlling the flames. "That's her semblance"Ryan said, nodding towards Kayleigh, who by this point, had already willed the fire to impale another two of the men, leaving one alive, who decided to seize the opportunity and ran out the door. Kayleigh went to kill him, but her aura was drained and she collapsed. Catching her, Adam said to Ryan, "Get her back to Beacon!", handing his partner to him, before turning to Shannon and saying, "Your semblance. Use it. He headed into that alley", pointing to a location across the road from them. "Find him!"He said, Shannon nodding, before taking a step backwards and disappearing into the shadows.

Ryan was already on his way to Beacon with Kayleigh, so Adam stepped outside of the club, and felt his pocket vibrate, which turned out to be his scroll receiving a message. It was from Shannon, and it simply said, "Got him." Smiling, Adam placed his scroll back into his pocket and ran across the street, entering the alleyway just as authorities pulled up outside the club. In the alley, Adam found Shannon restraining the thug onto the ground, before Adam walked up and stamped on both of his legs, crushing them. "No aura. That's gotta sting!"he said, stamping on the man's hand and breaking it. The screams that erupted from the man were horrible, but Adam continued his torture of the man, breaking his other hand for good measure. "Ready to talk?"Adam asked, the man spitting in his face as a reply. "I was going to make it quick, but now, I'm going to make you suffer."Adam said, wiping his face, before noticing that there was a large open gash on the man's stomach. Turning to Shannon, he asked, "You squeamish?", receiving a quick shake of the head. "Good"he said, before he plunged his hand into the gash, his aura allowing him extra strength, which meant he was able to bypass every layer of bone and tissue he met, each layer breaking as his hand tore its way through the thugs body. As he came to the ribcage, Adam stopped, and asked, "Ready to talk?", to which the man could only nod, as the pain he was in was excruciating. "Thank you"Adam said, removing his hand. "Who put you up to this?"he asked, the man simply coughing out, "Some guy in a black robe. Never saw his face, he kept his hood up. The only other thing I can tell you is he had a red insignia on his shoulder. A panther with blood dripping from its fangs. I swear, that's all I know!"

Looking at each other, Adam and Shannon had the same thought, "The Talons really do want us dead", before Adam turned back to their captive and said, "If you survive these injuries, tell your boss we're coming for him, and we'll burn his base to the ground.", before straightening up and stamping hard on the man's chest, crushing his ribcage and puncturing his lungs and heart. He was dead in a heartbeat, or in his case, lack thereof. "Nevermind."Adam said, turning to leave the alley. "We'll tell him ourselves."he said, pulling up his hood to blend in, a horrified Shannon following him.

* * *

After exiting the alley, and leaving the immediate area, Shannon pulled Adam to the side and asked, "Mind explaining what the fuck that was?", to which Adam only said, "I did the world a favour by getting rid of an evildoer. Got a problem with that?" "Yeah, maybe I do, if you kill everyone you offer mercy to!"Shannon said in response, causing Adam to push her into another alley, and say, "Really? A terrorist group, worse than the White Fang, just tried to blow us up, and you're getting on my case about killing someone?", before Shannon simply said, "You've changed, Adam. You weren't like this five years ago. What happened to you?", causing Adam to release the tight grip he had on her shoulder and take a step back. Taking a breath, he said, "I'll explain my actions back at school. Right now, our priority is making sure Kayleigh's alright. Got it?", receiving a nod in response. "Good, now climb up."he said, Shannon clambering onto his back. "Hold on tight"Adam said, before activating his semblance and speeding towards Beacon Infirmary.

* * *

 **A/N: And shit hits the fan! And now, you also know Kayleigh's semblance! Hopefully, this should tide you lot over till the next chapter. That's all I need to say. See you lot next time. Madman out!**


	10. An Impossible Choice

**A/N: Sorry this took so long, guys. There was a stretch of time where I had a complete blank, I couldn't write anything. Couple that,with watching Sword Art Online, and I've been very distracted lately. Anyway, I'm pretty proud of how this chapter turned out.**

* * *

 **CHAPTER 10- An Impossible Choice**

After running non-stop through the town, Adam and Shannon arrived at the Infirmary, and as Shannon climbed off of him, Adam opened the doors and entered. After they had been informed of where she was, they entered the room to find Ryan sitting beside her, while she was fed the medicine that replenished strength and aura. "How are you?"Adam asked, Kayleigh turning to him and smiling. "I'm fine, Adam. It's just, when I use my semblance like that, I run a risk of causing damage to myself. If I overexert myself, I could die."she said, causing Adam's face to fall. Ryan then decided to speak up. "That's why she asked me to build those gauntlets for her. She didn't want to trouble you with it, seeing as you've been extremely busy the past few weeks."he said, causing Adam to turn to his partner in shock. "You know you can tell me anything, right Kayleigh?"he asked, causing the girl to smile. "Yeah, Adam. In all honesty, I was expecting you to be angry that I kept this from you, but I'm thankful you're not."she stated, before leaning back in her bed. "If it's ok with you three, I'm going to get some rest now."she said, which caused the remainder of the team to nod before leaving. "We'll come back in a bit, alright?"Shannon asked, making Kayleigh smile before she dozed off.

After they had exited the infirmary, Shannon grabbed Adam's arm, whispering quietly, "Room. Now. You have some explaining to do.", causing Ryan to adopt a confused look, before all three of them headed towards their dorm room. After they had reached their floor, Shannon pushed Adam and Ryan into the room, before entering herself and locking the door behind her. Turning to her leader, Shannon stated, "Right, you said you'd explain, so start talking." Taking a deep breath, Adam started to recount the story that he had told Ruby outside Ozpin's office weeks ago.

After he had finished, he looked over to see Shannon crying slightly. "I'm so sorry, Adam. I didn't know."she said, Ryan shuffling over next to her and putting his arm round her. "It's alright, Shannon. Even though you and my Mum were close, you didn't know."Adam said, also getting up and putting his arm around her. "Just so you know, if we ever see my brother one of these days, I'm going to kill him, regardless of what he's done. He basically all but killed our mother, so now I'm going to bury him."he said, shocking both Ryan and Shannon with the amount of venom in his voice. "Damn, Adam, that's cold, even for you."Ryan replied, shivering as Adam's declaration had sent chills down his spine. "He tore our family apart. I plan on returning the favour."Adam growled, before standing up and heading to the door. "I'm off back to the hospital to check on Kayleigh. You coming?"he asked, the other two shaking their heads. "Shannon's gonna need to calm down, and I'm going to stay with her. Tell Kayleigh we said hi."Ryan said, Adam nodding before he exited the room.

* * *

As the door to his room closed, Adam turned to find himself face to face with Professor Ozpin. "Adam, can we talk?"Ozpin stated, his face solemn. "Of course, sir."Adam replied, allowing himself to be escorted to Ozpin's office. As he sat down in one of the chairs, Ozpin picked up a scroll on the table and turned it on, before passing it to Adam, who saw a news report detailing the carnage that was the attack at the dance club. "Care to explain that?"Ozpin asked, Adam taking note of the fact that his voice was quiet, which signified he should choose his words carefully. "My team and I were having a day together. We went to the club as a joke, but we actually ended up enjoying ourselves. After the first dance, I entered the bathroom. In there, a giant man attacked me. He ended up throwing me through the bathroom door, and he said the Talons would want to hear about us. Then he left to enter an airship, and dropped a bomb, which caused the damage you see there."Adam said, pointing to the scroll, before Ozpin asked, "There were a number of bodies recovered, all of which were too badly burned to make an accurate profile. But we have reports that place only your team in the building, as the other occupants had fled. Explain.", which caused Adam to immediately continue his explanation. "After the bomb went off, a number of men with rifles came in and were going to kill us. Luckily, Kayleigh used her semblance to save us. One got away, and I don't know where he went. The rest perished."he stated, Ozpin looking at the floor before replying. "I am also told that there was a body recovered from an alley across the street from the club. He had his ribcage crushed, as well as his hands and legs broken and his heart and lung punctured. For lack of a better word, he was brutalized. Now, would you happen to know anything about that?"Ozpin asked, Adam stiffening slightly. "No sir. Nothing at all."he said, trying to keep his composure. After a few seconds of awkward silence, Ozpin spoke again. "Very well, if that is all, you may return to your friends."he said, gesturing towards the elevators. Adam nodded, rising from his chair, before entering the elevator on the left.

* * *

After running through Beacon, Adam made it back to the infirmary, and was greeted by the cheery nurse. "Back again, Mister Robertson?"was the question posed to him, which he answered by smiling and stating, "Don't worry, I'm not here for me. I'm here to see my partner." After being allowed entry to her room, Adam entered to find his partner pulling herself out of her bed, her back to him. Deciding to scare her, he stepped forward and tapped her on the shoulder, sniggering as she jumped about five foot in the air.

"That wasn't funny, Adam! You almost gave me a goddamn heart attack!"she screamed, before she tried to raise her hands top hit him, only to have it blocked by Adam, and next thing she knew, she was pinned to the wall. "I know, I know. I couldn't resist."her partner said, before stepping back and releasing her arm. "Jackass" Kayleigh spat at him, before winding her foot back and kicking him in the shin. As her partner crumpled to the floor, she stepped over him to sign herself out. "I've got all of my aura back, so if you'll just wait a minute, we can head back to the dorm."she said, Adam nodding while picking himself up, before she left the room.

Picking himself up, Adam sat down on Kayleigh's bed, and waited for his partner to return. To occupy his time, he decided to look around the room, which, while small, contained a couple of paintings, one of which reminded Adam of the nearby Forever Fall, as well as a bookshelf in a far corner. Stepping over to it, he saw that there was one book which was not like the others. While all of the books on the shelves were in good condition, this one had a tattered exterior, as well as crumpled pages. Pulling it out if the bookshelf, Adam saw the word "Diary" printed on the cover in gold lettering. "Is this...Kayleigh's?"Adam asked himself, before letting curiosity get the best of him, and flicking the book to its first page, which did indeed say "If found, please return to Kayleigh Murphy", before a short list of ways to contact her followed, even including her team's dorm number. "Well, at least she's covering every angle." Adam thought to himself, smiling, before hesitating. "I know that it's traditional, but she's my friend. Do I really want to do this?" He debated within himself, before shrugging, reasoning that "What she doesn't know won't hurt her. Besides, I'm a quick reader." With that he flicked to the latest entry, which he read quickly, before his eyes caught onto one specific section, which he reread, before he finally smiled.

* * *

 _Dear Diary,_

 _I know that I said that I would avoid getting too close to people when I came here, but ever since the first night here, I've only had one person on my mind. It's driving me insane, feeling how I do, but I know that it would be impossible, seeing as he's taken, as well as possibly not being attracted to me in that way. And now, my feelings for him have only gotten stronger tonight, as during our Team Day, we ended up dancing together. I know I shouldn't be, but I think I'm hopelessly in love with my partner, who also happens to be my leader. To be perfectly honest with you, I hope that he finds you, so I can admit everything. And even if he doesn't feel the same way, I will continue to work with him, as he and the rest of ARKS are the closest to family I have. As long as they're my friends, then I'm happy._

 _Anyway, I think I'm rambling again. I'll talk to you later, Diary. See ya._

* * *

As Adam finished reading through the passage, he heard a small cough behind him, making him jump, as when he turned, he saw the girl who was just on his mind, Kayleigh, standing against the far wall, silent. Placing the diary on Kayleigh's bedside table, he walked over to her. Then, he noticed that there were tears running down her face. "Kayleigh, I'm sorry for reading the diary. I should have left it where I found it..."he started, before Kayleigh clasped her hands around his, cutting him off. "Don't be sorry, Adam. If you read the part I think you did, then you know I wanted you to. And to be perfectly honest with you, I know you would find it sooner or later", Kayleigh said, smiling. "How far did you get?"she continued, causing Adam to look at his feet before answering. "To be honest, I'm guilty of reading it at least three times. I wanted to make sure I got it all in. It was certainly worth my time to read", he stated, making Kayleigh smile. "Thanks Adam, but I feel horrible for putting you in this position. You're already dating Ruby, and, coupled with the fact that we're on the same team, it could be awkward if it didn't work out."she said, turning to head out the door, before she felt Adam grab her arm. "Kayleigh, I have to ask this. Have you ever been in a real relationship?"he asked, Kayleigh shaking her head in response. "I've never felt an attraction to anyone" she simply stated before grabbing her possessions, along with the diary, and exiting the room. Adam looked at the space where she had stood for a good few seconds, before deciding to run after her.

* * *

After catching up with her, Adam led Kayleigh back to their dorm, where Kayleigh was instantly tackled to the ground by Shannon who started crying into her friend's shoulder when she saw her. After Adam had helped Ryan peel Shannon off of Kayleigh, they all heard a knock at the door, which was revealed to be Ruby, who had come to see if her boyfriend had returned. When she saw that he was alright, her face lit up. "I'm happy to see you made it back, you four! Ozpin already told us everything."she said, before her face darkened. "Adam, if it's OK, can I talk to you for a minute?"she asked, Adam nodding, then turning to his team. "Back in a second."he said, before stepping outside to talk to Ruby.

Noticing that her face was still darkened, Adam couldn't help but be a little intimidated. "Clearly Weiss has been rubbing off on her. Why have I got a feeling I'm not going to like this conversation?"Adam thought to himself, before composing himself and asking, "What's up?", to which Ruby simply looked at the ground, before stating quietly, almost too low for Adam to hear, "Adam, I think we're growing apart." This caught the boy off guard, he hadn't seen that coming. But then again, he did see the truth in the statement. He and Ruby had been dating for a couple of months now, but there had been no actual dates in between the lessons, as their homework kept them too busy, and even if they somehow managed to complete it all, that was usually a day before the next school week started, so that threw a wrench in the works of developing any sort of relationship.

Bowing his head in acknowledgement, Adam simply asked, "What do you wish to do then?", even though he already knew the answer. Ruby went to reply, but her voice caught in her throat, resulting in her having to catch her breath, before making her original reply. "As much as I don't want to, I think it's best we go back to being friends, as I barely see you outside of classes as it is, and along with..."she said, hesitating at the last part, which only served to make Adam draw closer to her, but stopping at a respectable distance, and asking her what was wrong. "I'm sorry Adam, but I've fallen in love with someone else."was the reply he got, which shocked him, but it didn't affect him as much as he thought it would, as what Ruby described had happened to him as well, he had fallen in love with another. Smiling, he said, "Well, if this is where our relationship ends, I wish you all the best with the new person, Ruby. I hope they make you happy in the ways I couldn't. But, can I make a guess as to who it is?"he asked, Ruby nodding. "Is it Weiss?", he shot out with, and judging by Ruby stiffening up, he had hit the nail right on the head. "Well, I'm not surprised you fell for her. It was bound to happen sooner or later. I wish you luck, Ruby."he said, embracing Ruby in a one-armed hug. After he let her go, he stepped back, still with a straight face. This served to confuse Ruby. "Aren't you mad at all?"she asked, receiving a slow shake of the head. "Not at all. Falling out of love with your romantic partner didn't only happen to you, Ruby."he said, before turning to enter his room again. "Well, I wish you luck with whoever it is, Adam."she said, not a tear on her face, before using her semblance to disappear before Adam could reply. "Thanks. I'll need it."he said to himself, before entering the room once more. After he recounted the break up with Ruby, he told his team that he was planning on going to the gym.

* * *

After entering the gym, he immediately headed to the punching bag that he liked to frequent with Yang and Nora. After that, he spent a couple of minutes punching the bag, before he felt a presence behind him. "Whoever that is, this is kinda a bad time."he said before he felt a tough grip on his arm. "Yang."he said, recognising the gloved hand, before he found himself being flung into the training ring. "Now, Yang, just think about what you're doing."Adam said, before he felt a fist collide with the side of his head. "I warned you, Robertson. I warned you what would happen if you fucked with my sister!"Yang spat, before she flung another punch towards him, but this time, Adam grabbed her arm, then pushed her away. "Yang, the break up, it was mutual. It's not me she's in love with!"he let out, which actually caused Yang to stop her attack. "It's Weiss. She's her new attraction."Adam said, which caused Yang to calm down, and Adam noticed her red eyes disappear. This caused him to relax as well. "Alright, but next time you screw with her, I will not stop next time."she spat, before stomping out the room. "What is it with women trying to kill me?"Adam said to himself, before returning to his dorm. "Maybe this break up will be exactly what I need."he thought to himself, before he fell asleep, and managed to gain a semblance of peace after the hell of the last few hours.

* * *

Little did he know, that while he slept, he was being watched, by yet another fly drone, which quickly flew away, towards Vale, where it's master was waiting. And that very same master was currently poring over numerous maps and files, all of which were centred on Vale, and Beacon. "Soon they will all know the strength of the Talons! Soon..."

* * *

 **A/N: And the drama just keeps coming! I'm pretty sure that all of you can guess what I'm implying with this chapter, and to be honest, you may be right, you may not be. We'll just have to wait and see. I'll see you guys in the next chapter. Madman out!**


	11. Switch

**A/N: Just going to let you know that the next few chapters are going to be for exposition purposes, but they will help to push the plot forward, so please take these details in, as they are vital to the story of RoTA. Enjoy!**

* * *

 **CHAPTER 11- Switch**

"Hey, Adam! Are you planning on getting your lazy ass up anytime soon?"were the words that caused Adam to stir from his slumber, and he opened his eyes to see a blur of colour in front of him, which was revealed to be Kayleigh once his vision cleared. And she was hurriedly tapping her feet, with a look on her face that Adam knew meant he was in some trouble. "What's up?"he asked, before noticing that she was in her combat gear. "C'mon Adam, you promised the whole team would train today, so get out of bed before I drag you out!"she said, turning her back on him, to allow him to get changed. After a few seconds, she looked over to him, and saw he only had his shirt left to put on, giving her quite a nice view of...

"See something you like, Kayleigh?"Adam sniggered, as he threw on his shirt, followed by his jacket and hoodie, causing Kayleigh's face to turn beet red. "I...I...shut up!"she stammered, which only served to widen Adam's grin. "Relax, Kayleigh. It's alright. Besides, you know you love me really."he said, causing his partner's face to darken. "You're a dick, you know that Adam?"she spat at him, which only made Adam smile more. "C'mon. We should get the others. They already at the gym?"he asked, Kayleigh nodding, before he led her out the door.

* * *

After they had made sure their door was locked, they turned to head to the training ring, but found themselves face to face with a group of students, 1 male and 2 females, who looked as if they were lost. "Excuse me, sorry to bother you, but can you tell us where we can find the Armour floor? We may or may not have been turned around. We just transferred into this school today, so we're not entirely certain on where everything is."the boy said, whose name badge indicated he was "Cameron Goldie", a transfer student from Atlas. The girl's name badges indicated that they were"Rachael Kirkwood", also from Atlas and a cat Faunus, and "Penny Polendina", again from Atlas. "Yes, sorry. Armour floor is one up. This is Shield floor. You're close, just up there"Adam said, pointing towards a nearby stairwell. "Alright, thanks friend! I guess we'll see you around!"Rachael said, before heading off with her friends to Armour floor.

* * *

"Well, I think we should get going, don't you?"Adam asked his partner, who nodded, before leading her to the gym, where they saw the other two members of their team sparring. As they watched Shannon land a hit on Ryan, sending him to the floor, Adam felt Kayleigh shift beside him. "You want to get in there, don't you?"he asked, receiving a nod, before he started walking towards the ring. "Alright, you two, break it up, break it up!"He said, both of his teammates lowering their weapons. "I was actually doubting Kayleigh would get you up!"Shannon said, causing the black and red pair to smile. "Well, evidently she succeeded in waking me, but how about we get into the actual training?"Adam asked, all of his teammates nodding in agreement. "Right, first things first. Ryan, come here."he continued, walking over to an isolated corner of the gym. After Ryan joined him, Adam whispered to him, "I think we need to teach them the Switch, Ryan.", which caused Ryan's face to fall. "Adam, you know exactly how dangerous the Switch is, as well as how long it takes to master what you end up with! I know we were told to pass on the knowledge of the technique, but we'll have to do that when we have more than just free time in between classes."Ryan said, before Adam replied with, "I know that, but there'll come a time where their lives may depend on us teaching this technique. Wouldn't you want to increase their chances of survival?", resulting in an internal debate of Ryan's, before he caved and nodded. "Fine, let's teach them, but it'll be difficult."he said, as Adam walked past him. When Adam heard Ryan's agreement, he smiled. "Wouldn't be as much fun without a little challenge, would it?"he said, before they rejoined the girls in the ring.

"Well, who's sparring first, Adam?"Shannon asked, which caused Adam to look between his three teammates, before replying. "Well, with what me and Ryan want to try out, all of us need to participate in this match. How about, me and Shannon vs Ryan and Kayleigh?"he asked, his teammates nodding. "Ok, but I don't have a weapon, Adam."Kayleigh said, looking down at the floor, not noticing her leader smiling. "Not a problem, Kayleigh. I actually have something for you", Adam said, walking over to the corner of the ring, where a box was sitting. Picking it up, he carried it to his partner, before opening it to reveal a pair of metal wristbands with a Burn Dust crystal. "Here you go!"he said, holding the box towards her. "Me and Ryan thought that you needed to learn to control your semblance, so we started working together on these after the dance club weeks ago. So, we present to you...Flamebringer! You can change the name if you wish. We weren't really imaginative."he said, as his partner clipped the wristbands onto her wrists.

"The bands are activated when you clip them on, and they protect your hands from your semblance. They also limit your power, so you don't burn out. But the best part is they can help you to shape the fire into anything you want. Sword, bow, mace, you name it!"Ryan explained, which caused Kayleigh to burst out smiling. "Thanks, you two! You didn't have to, but I appreciate it!"she squealed, pulling both of the boys into a hug that could rival Yang's bone-crushing bear hugs. "No problem. We can't have our teammate be the only one without a weapon, can we?"Ryan said, after Kayleigh released the two of them.

* * *

"Right, now that's taken care of, how about we start training?"Shannon asked, as Adam busied himself with something on the edge of the ring. "Sure, just let me...there we go!"he said, as he stepped back from the brazier he had just lit. "Now, let's see if the bands work. Kayleigh, picture what you want the fire to become and project your aura into the bands! Go on!"Ryan said, before the fire in the brazier flew past him, changed itself into the shape of a sword that looked remarkably similar to both Adam's Deathcaliber and Ryan's Stormblade, then flew into Kayleigh's hand. "Well, now that's impressive!"Adam said, before stepping forward and raising a hand to the fire. To his surprise, he was able to clasp a hand around the blade, as the flames had somehow been made solid by the bands. "I wonder..."he trailed off, before motioning for Kayleigh to pass him the sword. After she did, all the remaining members of ARKS were astonished to see that Adam held the sword without the flames harming him. "Excellent! Anyone of us can hold the weapons that Kayleigh makes! So that just makes what me and Ryan want to teach easier!"Adam said, throwing the flame sword back to his partner, who caught it easily.

"What exactly do you want to teach us, Adam?"Shannon asked, as the designated pairs for the spar got into position. "Now, normally we wouldn't try this, but we need to learn to adapt to different fighting styles. So, me and Ryan taught ourselves what we like to call the Switch. Basically, it's a technique where you pass your opponent to whoever happens to be fighting alongside you, to keep your opponents from thinking you are too predictable."he replied, before Shannon and Kayleigh looked at him curiously. "Adam, are you sure about this? We could end up hurting ourselves more than the enemy."Kayleigh said, causing Adam to smile. "Alright, we'll show you what we mean."he said, as he directed Shannon to change places with Ryan, so the matchup was now boys vs girls.

"Whenever you're ready", Adam said, motioning for the girls to make the first move, but they simply stayed where they were. "Alright, guess the first move's ours."Adam said, before disappearing from Ryan's side, and reappearing fighting Shannon. "Take it easy with him, Kayleigh! He's a little bit slow!"He shouted to his partner, before she smiled and turned to meet her teammate flying towards her, weapon pointed at her. Instinctively, she raised her new sword, and was shocked to see she had successfully parried him. As he regained his composure, Kayleigh seized her advantage, and started to push him onto the defensive, until his back hit the edge of the ring. Kayleigh started to walk towards him, but he smiled and shouted "Adam, switch!", before flipping over Kayleigh's head, and entering combat with Shannon, while Adam sped over to fight Kayleigh. "Ah, I get it! Trips your opponent up!" Adam heard Shannon say from the other side of the ring, blocking a blow from Ryan with her rifle. "Precisely!"Adam said, before a grin spread on his face. "Now let's mix it up! Shannon, switch!"He continued, speeding away from Kayleigh, to be replaced by Shannon, who immediately started to go on the offensive, but Kayleigh was well aware of what Shannon could do, so she easily blocked her attack and pushed her away. Looking over, both girls saw their teammates in a heated spar, as neither of them wanted to give up. Just at that moment, they heard the door to the gym open, just as Ryan flipped over a leg sweep from Adam, only for his leader to hit him in the back with Deathcaliber, sending him over the edge of the ring into a crash mat. "Why can't I ever see that one coming?"ARKS heard him say as he picked himself up, before they turned to see the new arrival. "Because Adam likes to be merciless on the battlefield."the familiar voice of Libby said, as she closed the door to the gym. "I see you've been teaching them the Switch, Adam. How they picking it up?"she asked, Adam smiling before replying. "They're going to need more practice, but they seem to have the gist of it."Ryan spoke up, cutting Adam off before he could speak.

"Fair enough, but the group's ready to head out to the cinema together, and we're all waiting for you. You coming?"Libby asked, before Adam recalled the cinema trip their group had arranged, so they could bond more as friends. "Oh, shit! Tell them to wait 5 minutes!"he said to his sister, who walked back out the door, closing it behind her. "Alright, you have 5 minutes to get changed! Go!"Adam stated, causing his team to speed towards the changing rooms, before he used his semblance to rapidly change his clothes. In a very quick 3 minutes, they all emerged, wearing their causal clothing, which for Adam, consisted of a short sleeved plain black t-shirt, a pair of black tracksuit bottoms, black trainers, and his jacket and hoodie. For Ryan, it consisted of a long sleeved yellow hoodie, with a yellow shirt underneath, dark blue jeans, and black shoes. Kayleigh's outfit consisted of a simple scarlet hoodie, a red t-shirt, light blue jeans and simple brown shoes. Finally, Shannon's outfit consisted of a white jumper and shirt, black jeans, and grey shoes.

* * *

After the team was ready, Adam led them to the cafeteria, where the rest of their group was sitting, all of them in casual clothes as well. Adam had to admit, he was a little uncomfortable to see the giant Yatsuhashi in a simple t-shirt and jeans combo. After greeting their friends, including the relatively new White Rose couple of Weiss and Ruby, at which Adam didn't even feel at all awkward, they headed out the school and towards the cinema in Vale. All the way to the cinema, the group's various members engaged in conversation with each other, but Team ARKS and Libby didn't engage in any of them. At least, they didn't until Yatsuhashi tapped Adam on the shoulder, grabbing his attention. "Can I talk to you for a minute? In private?"Yatsuhashi asked, Adam nodding, before he let the group know that he and Yatsu would catch them up, before the giant samurai led him to a park bench. As he sat down, Adam asked, "What's up?", which caused the giant samurai to look down at the ground, before he answered. "Adam, I want your opinion on...girls."he whispered, loud enough for Adam to hear, which caused the boy in black to stare at Yatsuhashi in shock. "Girls? You mean...you want a relationship with a girl?"he asked, Yatsuhashi nodding silently. Just as Yatsu was about to continue, Adam raised a hand to cut him off. "Before you continue, can I ask one thing?"he questioned, Yatsu nodding, before he asked what was on his mind. "Is it...Libby, by any chance?"was the question he asked, Yatsu's silence confirming his suspicion.

"Now, I'm not giving you my blessings to date her, Yatsu, nor am I saying you can't date her. All I want you to know is this. She chooses who she dates, and if you can make her happy, then ask her out. But remember, she's still my sister, and while we may have differing views on things, I still love her. If you break her heart, I don't care how big you are. I will beat your ass. Got it?"he rolled off, Yatsu nodding. "Understood"the samurai said, before he stood up and both of them rejoined the group outside the cinema. After a "heated" argument between Weiss and Yang, the group decided on the new Red vs Blue movie, which was the thirteenth instalment in the multi-million Lien franchise.

* * *

As the four teams booked their showing, Adam nudged Yatsuhashi in the shoulder, gaining his attention, before nodding his head towards Libby, who was standing by herself. "Go. Now's your chance."he whispered, smiling as Yatsu walked towards the girl in question, and asked her if she would like to sit next to him during the movie. "Really?she asked in surprise, causing the samurai to nod, before she smiled. "Sure!"she squealed, before hugging Yatsu, who merely patted her on the head, before Libby realised what she was doing, and pushed herself off him, her face redder than Kayleigh's hoodie. "Sorry!"she stammered, causing every one present to laugh, before Yatsu cleared his throat. "It's OK, Libby. Actually, I wanted to ask you out on a date, if you want to."he said, his voice quiet. This caused the room to fall deathly silent, even ceasing the banter of Yang and Nora, before a small smile appeared on Libby's face. "Of course!"she squeaked out, before she wrapped herself around her new date's arm, pulling him towards the theatre. Looking back to Adam for help, Yatsu was dismayed to hear Adam state, "Oh and I forgot to tell you, she's a clinger. When she was a baby, she all but cut off the circulation in my arm, and I couldn't get her off.", which only caused the rest of the group to buckle in laughter.

As Libby dragged Yatsu into the movie theatre, Adam turned to the rest of the group, before stating "C'mon then, we should catch up to them!", and rushing into the room alongside them. As the group followed him, they saw that they were the only ones in the room, meaning they didn't have to keep their voices down. "Well, this just makes things better!"Adam said, before the opening credits played.

* * *

 **2 hours later...**

"Oh, that's fucking bullshit!"Adam said angrily, as the group left the theatre. "Did Tucker really have to be the one who got the upgrade? It should have gone to Sarge, or, hell, maybe even Caboose!"he stated, causing Ryan to sigh. "Adam, let it fucking go!"he spat, before turning back around. "Actually...can anyone else hear a whistling?"he asked, his face confused. Looking around the group, Adam saw that none of them were whistling, which caused him to be confused as well. "Yeah, I can. Wonder what it is?"he queried, before looking up. "Oh, son of a b..."

At that moment, the world caught on fire.

* * *

 **A/N: And it seems our heroes just can't catch a break! Well, this could be placed as a two parter, but not gonna happen! See you guys next time. Madman out!**


	12. Light and Dark

**A/N: I've been building up to this one for a while, so I've been looking forward to this one as well. Hopefully, the twist at the tail end will satisfy you lot. Enjoy!**

* * *

 **CHAPTER 12- Light and Dark**

"Adam! Adam! ADAM!" Adam heard Ryan shout, as the wreckage of the movie theatre burned behind them. "C'mon, you bastard! Don't die on me now!"Ryan continued, before Adam finally managed to summon the strength to push his friend off him. "I'm fine, Ryan! How's everyone else?"he asked, Ryan simply stating "They're...alive." The way he said "alive" made Adam nervous, to say the least. "Ryan..."he said, with a large amount of venom in his voice, which made Ryan to concede and answer him. "You were knocked unconscious, and Libby got her arm dislocated. Other than that, the rest of us are fine. Just shaken up. The rest of them headed back to Beacon not five minutes ago, so they could get Libby the medical help she needs." After hearing all of this, Adam felt a little bit better. "At least she's ok."he thought to himself. "Alright, move so I can get up!"He ordered to Ryan, who quickly scrambled away from him. Adam then placed his palms on the ground above his head, and flipped himself upright. "Ok, now to head back to Beacon. Then, I'm going to find the person who launched that missile, and I'm going to tear him apart."Adam said, Ryan nodding at his want of revenge. "You know I'll stand by you, Adam. No matter what."he said, placing a hand on his leader's shoulder. This caused Adam to smile. "Whether you're standing right beside me, or you're halfway across the world, you'll always be my brother."he replied, mirroring Ryan's motion. "Ohhhh, that's adorable!"the two then heard a voice say, causing the two of them to jump. Looking to Adam, Ryan mouthed, "What the fuck?", before the voice laughed, sending chills down their spines. "You don't know me, but I know everything about you! Your names, fighting styles, personalities, everything I wish to know is at my disposal! Now, I'm a fair person, so I'll give you a hint as to what to do next. You might want to return to your friends, as one or two of them are in danger of losing their lives!"the voice said, before both boy's faces showed absolute shock and horror. "Beacon!"Adam shouted, just as his scroll rang. Pulling it out, he saw that it was Kayleigh calling him, so he pressed a couple of buttons and put the phone into a conference call, which Ryan joined, before he put the scroll to his ear, Ryan doing the same. "Hey Kayleigh, what's up?"Ryan asked, before the two of them were greeted with their teammate's frantic voice.

"Adam, you need to get back here now!"Kayleigh shouted, Adam replying to keep her calm. "Kayleigh, what's wrong? Is Libby okay?"he asked, fearful for his sister's safety. "She's fine, but there's a boy on campus who isn't in uniform, he's wearing the symbol of the Talons, and you're not going to believe this, Adam, but he...looks like you."his partner whispered down the call, causing both Adam and Ryan to freeze. Looking towards his friend, Adam saw he was just as stunned by the news as he was. "Kayleigh, can you repeat that, and how old does he look?"Adam asked, turning back to the phone. "The boy in campus looks like you, Adam, except he's older looking. Maybe 22, 24, maybe. Why, do you know him?" Kayleigh asked, before Adam saw Ryan crush his phone slightly. "Kayleigh, get out of there."Adam stated, his own fist clenching as he spoke. "Sorry, my signal went down a bit there, can you repeat that?"she replied, Adam shaking with rage at this point. "GET EVERYONE THE HELL OUT OF THERE!"he repeated, shouting this time. "Do not go near that guy at any cost! We'll be back soon!"he continued, before hanging up the call. Looking at the scroll in his hand for a good few seconds, Adam simply looked to Ryan, who nodded, before motioning for Ryan to climb onto his back, which his teammate did, before they sped back towards Beacon, and the danger that was on the front doorstep...

* * *

 **5 minutes later...**

After putting his feet through hell, Adam managed to get Ryan to Beacon, where they saw a group of people, all of whom wearing the symbol of the Talons, with the person that Kayleigh described, an almost mirror image of Adam himself, at their head. Just at that moment, the doppelganger of Adam noticed the two members of ARKS. "Ahhh, so the conquering duo return to their school! How utterly predictable! Men!"he exclaimed, raising his hand, as the members of the Talons surrounded Adam and Ryan. "Now hand over the other half, little..."the mysterious man said, not being able to finish his statement, as Adam had used his semblance to flip over a member of the Talons, and shoulder barge the man into a nearby wall. "Over my dead body!"Adam said, before raising his foot to stamp on his opponent's head, but the man grabbed his foot and threw him through a nearby tree. "ADAM!"Ryan shouted, before drawing his sword and running through a couple of the Talons. "I'm fine!"Adam shouted, before pushing himself up off the ground and speeding back towards the man, who simply sidestepped out of the way, causing Adam to fly past him, before delivering a roundhouse kick to the back of Adam's head, sending him back to the ground. "Too slow, Adam!"the man said, before picking him up by the scruff of his neck, and throwing him into the wall. As Adam lay on the ground, the man looked over to Ryan, who was managing to hold his own against the Talons. "Well, seems I underestimated the two of you. At least one of you can take care of himself."he said, not noticing that Adam was getting back to his feet. Before Adam could make a move, there was a whoosh of air, as an arrow made of fire embedded itself in the tree next to the mysterious combatant, then dissipated. As both he and Adam turned to see the source, Adam was shocked to see Kayleigh conjuring another arrow, as the rest of their group rushed forward, ready to defend their friends.

"Adam, you okay?"Kayleigh asked, as she leapt from her vantage point, and landed beside her partner. "I am now", Adam said, while cracking his knuckles as he prepared for another attack on the mysterious man. But, seeing as he was now clearly outnumbered, the mysterious individual started to back towards the edge of the cliff Beacon rested on, with a smug grin on his face. "You have your army, Adam, but I also have mine!"He said, just as Adam and his friends felt a new presence behind them, and before they could turn around, the new arrivals flipped over them and landed on front of them, before drawing their weapons and pointing them at Adam and his group. The leader of the two new arrivals, who Adam was surprised to see was Cameron, smiled and looked towards Adam's doppelganger, who nodded. Nodding in response, both of the new combatants, Cameron's partner being the cat eared Faunus Rachel Adam and Kayleigh met earlier, rushed towards the Beacon pupils, sending them scattering in different directions to avoid them. Adam was forced to roll out of the way, before straightening up, and stepping towards Cameron, who was currently fighting the remaining members of ARKS. Before he could help his team however, he felt a fist collide with the side of his head, sending him flying through the wall of Beacon, ending up in the History of Remnant classroom, which was full of students doing extracurricular activities. They scattered as Adam crashed into a table, breaking it. After him came the shadowy individual, who still had the same smile on his face.

"Well, Adam, you certainly can take more damage than the last time we faced each other! Now, let's see how much you've learned since then. Strike me!"the man said, before Adam took the opportunity and flew towards him, and struck him in the face, sending his opponent back through the wall. As Adam went to continue after him, he felt Professor Oobleck hold him back while asking, "Mister Robertson, can you keep this criminal away from the school, while I fetch the rest of the staff?" After Adam nodded, the hyperactive Professor sped away, and Adam stepped back through the wall. He saw that his opponent had disappeared, as well as Cameron and Rachel, and his friends were laying on the ground unconscious. "Dammit!" Adam said, just as he saw Ryan begin to stir. "Ryan, you alright?"he asked, his friend nodding. "Adam, what's he doing here? He can't be..." Ryan started, before Adam cut him off. "Don't worry about that. Just help me get everyone inside."he said, before he heard the teachers arrive. Immediately, Professor Goodwitch got to work on repairing the wall Adam was thrown through earlier.

* * *

"Mister Robertson, mind my language, but care to explain what the hell happened here? Ozpin asked, Adam simply looking at the ground without speaking. After a few seconds of silence, in which everyone looked at the boy, Adam simply said, "Inside. I'll explain there.", causing the gathered individuals to look at each other, before nodding and heading back into the school, Adam taking the rear of the group.

* * *

After the students had been cleared of any and all injuries, the group headed up to Ozpin's office, where Adam noticed that there was a man who he recognised as General James Ironwood of the Atlesian military. After a quick introduction, Ozpin turned to Adam and said, "Well, if you'd be so kind, Adam, explain." All the gathered students and adults looked at the boy in question, who looked at Ryan, who simply said, "You might as well tell them, Adam. They deserve to know." Adam then took a deep breath and said, "Well, before I begin, I have to ask: Do any of you know about Split Aura Individuals?" After his question, most of the students looked confused, whereas the teachers looked at each other in realisation, their eyes wide and faces grim. Adam then saw that one of his friends had raised their hand, and it was revealed to be Phyrra. "I had a feeling you would know, Phyrra. Care to share what you know, and I'll tell you whether or not you're correct." Phyrra then cleared her throat, and recited:

"When a person is developing in the womb, their Aura, which is itself sentient, can judge whether or not the person is worthy of wielding it completely, and if they're judged as unworthy, the Aura splits itself into two halves: a Light half and a Dark half, and one half goes to the unworthy one, while the other goes to a sibling born after the judged one. They can be years apart, but once the two Auras are unlocked, the Dark half wielder will be compelled to hunt down and kill the Light half and absorb the Aura to 'complete' themselves. It will be their sole motivation. The problems with this include: The two halves of the Aura can only be killed by the other half, or the Aura will inhabit another sibling of the Aura holders. Also, the SAIs, or Split Aura Individuals, are vastly more powerful than a normal Huntsman, due to them being able to use any emotion to power their Aura, unlike us, who only use one emotion. Finally, as a result of the increased power, SAIs are generally treated as third-class citizens, even worse than the Faunus."

After she finished, all the students looked at Adam in horror, realising what he was aiming at by asking who knew about Split Auras. "Well, how much of that was wrong, Adam?"Phyrra asked, Adam smiling, before saying, "Actually, you were dead on with all of that, Phyrra. Well I'm guessing you all figured out the relationship between me and the guy that attacked us." Shannon and Kayleigh's faces looked absolutely horrified, before Ruby went to ask, "So that guy was your...", before Adam cut her off.

"Yep, that guy was my mortal enemy, and his name's Jamie, and...he's my older brother."

* * *

 **A/N: And now things get complicated! How many of you called it? Please comment telling me whether or not you did. Either way, I hope you enjoyed the chapter, and I'll see you in the next one. Madman out!**


	13. Bad Blood

**A/N: And welcome back guys! Sorry I've been inactive, as between messing around with Youtube, Xbox and just plain laziness, I've also not been inspired to write anything. I've had ideas, but I lacked the drive to put them down. Anyway, here's chapter 13 of RoTA. Enjoy!**

* * *

 **CHAPTER 13- Bad Blood**

"Your...brother?" Kayleigh asked, her partner nodding his head solemnly. "'Fraid so. Remember when Libby joined, and I said I wanted to stay away from "familial matters"? Well, let's just say, he's the reason I was suspicious of her coming here, in case she brought it up."Adam replied, before he was interrupted by General Ironwood. "You really expect us to believe this crap, boy? Hell, you could be making this up just because you're in league with your brother to take down Beacon, and are undercover! Split Auras, ha, please! There's no such thing!"Ironwood laughed, before Adam sped towards him, and punched him square across the room, colliding him with a wall. "Don't you dare draw comparisons between me and him! I'm nothing like him! I don't care if you believe me, but it's the truth. He's got an army, and he wants me dead. Now..."Adam said, before turning towards Ozpin. "...I would like permission to leave."he continued, before his headmaster nodded. Turning on his heel, Adam walked towards the elevators, said, "Ground floor", and let the doors slide shut. After he had left, the rest of the students turned back to Ozpin, who nodded, telling them to "Get after him". With that, every student present left the office.

After they tracked Adam to the roof of the dormitory building, they found the boy sitting on the edge of the roof, looking out over the school, and Vale beyond. They decided that the rest of Team ARKS should be the ones to talk to him first, and with that, Teams RWBY, JNPR, CFVY and Libby left, leaving ARKS alone. After they made sure everyone was gone, Ryan, Kayleigh and Shannon turned to Adam, who was still looking out at Beacon. Kayleigh went to take a step forward, but Adam looked back and said, "You're not the first to try and sneak up on me", catching her by surprise. "You knew we were here?"Shannon asked, causing her leader to scoff, before replying. "You forget how many schools Ryan and I have been through, Shannon. Our training is different from other schools."Adam said, before straightening himself up, and turning to face his team.

"Well, at least you know what I meant when I said I would rip my brother apart the next time I saw him, Shannon. That's how."Adam said, before his team noticed that his fists were clenched so hard, a drop of blood fell, due to his Aura being lowered. "Adam, stop."Kayleigh said, stepping forward and placing a hand on her partner's shoulder, before nodding to his hand. Looking at his mangled limb, Adam simply shrugged her arm off, before he wiped his hand on his jeans. "Adam, you're going after him, aren't you?"Ryan asked, causing both the girls to look to their leader, who simply stared at the ground. "You know that I'll stand by you, Adam. No matter the cost."Ryan said, clasping his friend's shoulder, before looking at the girls with a gaze that said "Back me up." Taking the hint, Kayleigh said, "Yeah, me too. Till the end.", followed by Shannon stating the same thing. "Guys, you don't have to put your lives on the line for me."Adam said, before his teammates smiled. "We know, Adam."Ryan said, before looking to the girls, then back to Adam. "When do we start?"he asked, Adam looking back out at Vale, before answering, "We just did!"

"Alright, as much as I want Jamie to pay, as well as that prick Cameron's who knocked me unconscious, you can't do anything with your clothes like that Adam!" Ryan said, causing Adam to look at his ensemble, his face falling when he saw that there was now a large tear around the arm of his jacket, which would cost a fortune to repair. "Now, he's fucking done it..."ARKS heard their leader say, before he motioned for them to follow him. After he dragged all three of them back to their dorm room, he flung open the boy's shared wardrobe, and grabbed a bunch of clothes off the hangars, before pulling his hoodie and jacket off, and flinging them onto his bed, then disappearing into the bathroom, locking it behind him.

"Adam, are you sure you're not overreacting to this? I mean, it's just a jacket..."Shannon said, before she saw Ryan look at her with an angry gaze, and realized that the clothes Adam had just discarded were important to him. "Adam, I take that back. I didn't know that they held so much significance to you. Forgive me."she stuttered out, before she heard her leader's reply. "Relax, it's fine. They were the last gifts from my Mum before she died. I swore to keep them close, for her, but I always felt as if they were holding me back. They symbolize me holding onto the past, but now I'm leaving the past behind me, I need a new look."Adam said, before the bathroom door unlocked, and he stepped out, securing Deathcaliber under his new long, black, quilted patterned jacket, and black hoodie combo. "What do you think?"Adam asked, receiving three nods from his team, before he smiled for the first time in what felt like forever. "Good, as now, it's personal..." Adam growled, before pulling his hood up, increasing his threatening image. "Time to go to work..."he said, pulling the dorm door open, only to find that his group of friends were standing there, with looks that clearly said that they had heard everything his team had said.

"You didn't really think that we'd let you do this by yourself, did you, Adam?"Phyrra said, which caused Adam to smile, but it quickly turned into a frown. "I'm not wanting all of you to get involved. If any of you get hurt, it's on my hands. I won't accept that."he said, before a blur of colour, which turned out to be Libby, flew forward and slapped him, with her momentum sending him to the floor. "Dammit, Adam! You're too strong to be like this! Yes, our brother wants to kill you, so you'll need all the help you can get. Now, you know I'll stand with you, Adam. While we have our differences, you're still family to me."Libby said, as her brother picked himself up, massaging his jaw. A movement beside her showed that Jaune wanted to say his part as well. "Alright Jaune, let's hear it."Adam said, before Jaune started to speak. "Now, normally I wouldn't be inclined to say this, but you're family to me as well. I'm pretty sure that mentality applies to all of us. Right guys?"Jaune asked, every single one of the gathered students nodding, even the Ice Queen Weiss Schnee.

* * *

"Well, it seems like I can't stop you from continuing on this crusade, can I?"a voice behind them asked, which they found out was Ozpin when they turned around. Adam went to explain, but the headmaster held up a hand to silence him. "I understand your reasons for withholding the information about your brother, as not even you knew exactly where he disappeared to five years ago." When Ozpin said how long ago his brother had left, Adam looked at the ground, before his eyes went wide. "Professor, could you take everyone up to your office? I've just realised something."he asked, causing everyone to adopt curious looks as they followed Ozpin to his office.

* * *

After Adam had finally recalled everything, he headed up to the office, where he found that his friends were all sitting down, along with the teachers, and they were all anticipating his explanation. Adam took a deep breath, then started to recall everything. "Right, first things first. Weiss, how long ago was it that my brother filed for the poor Faunus working conditions?"he asked, the heiress thinking hard, before she said, "Actually, I believe that it was five years ago exactly, as of today." Adam, happy with his friend's explanation, continued with his recollection."Alright, Ryan, how long ago was my Aura unlocked? Mine and yours were unlocked on the same day."Adam asked, his friend thinking before replying with the same reply as Weiss. "Five years ago, as of today." This caused Adam's, as well as his group's faces to fall, as everyone present managed to piece together what Adam was reaching for with his questions.

"And finally, my brother's Aura was unlocked five years before mine, and he surely must have known that we were two halves of the same Aura, which gives him a five year window to prepare himself for the fight between us, which could possibly include him creating the Slicing Talons, to give himself extra protection. And then, five years later, my Aura gets unlocked, which starts the feud between us, and my personality instantly changes, which I think caused Shannon's family to move to Vale, due to the danger I put her in. And then, my brother decides to come home for the final time, shows his Dark side to our Mum, leaves the family, and causes the death of our mother. And now, ten years after his Aura was unlocked, he decides to attack me at my school, possibly celebrating the five years of this feud." Adam said, which caused his friend's faces to widen in surprise as they realized how far back his battle with his brother went. Libby, in particular, was on the verge of tears, due to the life-or-death situation her brothers were in. Adam looked at her, then at the ground solemnly. "Libby, can I talk to you for a minute?"he asked, his sister nodding, without saying a word. With that, the two Robertsons left the room, leaving the rest of their group to mull over the new information that they had learned.

* * *

After the elevator doors opened, Adam led his sister to the bench he had sat with Ruby on months ago, and gently helped her sit down. "Adam, I knew that you and Jamie were SAIs, but I didn't know how bad this battle between the two of you was. I hate that I have lose one of you, but if there is no other way, I will stand with you, Adam."Libby said, which caused Adam to look at his sister in shock. "Libby, that's not fair. He's your family as much as me. True, he's an asshole, but he's still our brother."he said, which caused Libby to smile. "Though he may be our family, he hasn't been there for most of my life. I barely know him as result, and thanks to that, I'm willing to help you put him down."she said, which caused Adam to bow his head. Libby saw this, and simply smiled.

"Talk about sibling rivalry, you two take it to the extreme."a voice said, causing them to jump,as they looked at their friends who had just joined them. "Guess there's no way I can change your minds, huh?"Adam asked, each one of his friends shaking their heads. "Thought so. Alright,"he started, pushing himself to his feet, and looking around his group. "We're in this together!"he finished, Ryan stepping forward and extending his arm. "Till the last man falls?"his friend asked, which caused Adam to halt for a moment, as that was their old saying to show that they were brothers in arms, before clasping his hand around Ryan's arm. "Till the last man falls."Adam stated, causing his friends to smile, as they knew that they were all one big team as of that moment.

* * *

"Ok, so what do you suggest we do first, Adam?"Coco Adel, the leader of Team CFVY, asked, stepping forward. "Well, first thing is finding my brother. The quicker this is done, the sooner we can forget about this whole thing. Tomorrow, since it's a free day, I want you to take Team CFVY into Vale and start asking around. The rest of us will focus on learning all we can about the Talons. Sound good?"Adam replied, Coco nodding in confirmation. "Alright, return to your rooms and rest up. You'll all need it."Adam said, his group quickly dispersing, leaving Team ARKS alone.

* * *

"You two head up. We'll be up in a minute."Adam said to Ryan and Shannon, as he saw Kayleigh looking out of a nearby window, completely silent. After the two other members of his team left the scene, he stepped up to his partner, and placed a hand on her shoulder, causing her to flinch, but not throw him off. Seeing an opportunity, Adam stepped round to see her face, and saw that her face was in darkness, her hair shielding it. "Kayleigh, what's wrong?"he asked, before his partner stirred from her silent state. "Oh, sorry, Adam. It's just...do you think all of us, Huntsmen that haven't even completed their training, can stand against, and defeat, a terrorist organization that makes even the White Fang think twice before attacking? I mean, there's a high chance that most, if not all, of us could die, and what good would it do?"she asked, before Adam reached to cup her cheek, and wipe away a tear that had appeared. "It's true, we could die, but there is something we have that the Talons, and especially my brother, lack."he said, which caused Kayleigh to look at him in confusion. "And what is that?"she asked, her partner and crush smiling. "We have something worth fighting for. And that's our lives, school, and our family."he said, which caused Kayleigh to smile before bursting into tears again. "God, you're so corny sometimes, Adam."she laughed out, Adam simply shrugging. "I made it all up on the fly, but it's true. Our group, and the school are the best things to ever happen to me. Without meeting the people I have the honour to call friend, who knows where I would be? It's thanks to you, and everyone else Kayleigh, that I've learned to laugh for what seems like the first time in what feels like forever, I've learned the meaning of humility, and I've even fallen in love. Twice, in fact."Adam said, his partner jerking her head back up at his final statement.

"What? But I thought Ruby was the only girl for you." Kayleigh said in confusion, Adam simply smiling in response. "So did I, but I realized over time, that she was more interested in Weiss than me, so I moved on, holding no ill will towards her, and she showed the same courtesy to me, which I'm thankful for."he said, before Kayleigh clasped her hands over his right one and said, "Whoever it is, Adam, I wish you the best of luck. I suggest you ask her out, as you might not get another chance. Even though you know how I feel about you, I won't stand in their way if they make you happy." This only served to make Adam smile, before he spoke. "Well, that makes it easier, as she's the one who's holding my hand right now." This caused Kayleigh to look at their joined hands, before quickly withdrawing them. "Adam, you mean..."Kayleigh started, before Adam cut her off. "Yes, I do. I'm in love with you, Kayleigh. I have been since I met you, but I guess it took me longer to realize. Even though we are on the same team, making it complicated if it doesn't work, I would like it if I could call you my girlfriend."he said, before he saw his partner's eyes start to tear up. "Sorry,"she said, wiping them away, before looking back at her crush, "I'm just so happy to hear you say that. Yes, I would like to be your girlfriend."she said, causing Adam's eyes to light up, before he leant in and kissed her on the lips.

As soon as their lips connected, Adam felt sparks rush through his body, as he knew that he had found his soul mate. The same was true for Kayleigh, as she wrapped her arms around her new boyfriend's neck. As the new couple separated, Adam held a smirk on his face. "Well, that was a thing."he breathed out, causing Kayleigh to lightly slap him on the shoulder. "I think Yang's been rubbing off on you, but you're right. How are we going to let everyone know?"she asked, as Adam simply smiled. "We'll find out tomorrow. Right now, we gotta get ready for tomorrow. C'mon."he said, offering his hand to his new girlfriend, who took it, and they headed off to their dorm room where, after wishing each other a good night, they fell asleep, or at least, Kayleigh did. Adam was staying awake, looking out of the window. Before he himself fell asleep, he said, to no one in particular...

"You'd better hope my friends find you first, Jamie, as from now on, we're at war..."

* * *

 **A/N: Dun, Dun, Dunnnnn! Finally, I've got the declaration of war out of the way! I've been looking forward to it for ages, and I didn't know how to integrate it.**

 **Also, just in case you were wondering, this new pairing won't be facing the same fate as Shadow Rose, oh no! This one will last, I can guarantee you that!**

 **And I think that's all I need to say. See you next chapter. Madman out!**


	14. Strike One

**A/N: I don't have anything to say here, so I will simply say... Banana!**

* * *

 **CHAPTER 14-Strike One**

After a particularly pleasant dream, Adam woke up, and looking around the room, he saw that he was the only one awake. Looking over to his partner's (nay, girlfriend's) bed, he smiled as he recalled the events of the previous night, before he slipped out of bed and got into his casual clothing. After he had pulled his jacket on, he went to close the wardrobe door, but took a second to gaze at his old grey hoodie and navy jacket. "The past is in the past. I have to move on. For my own sake."Adam thought to himself, before shutting the wardrobe and grabbing a piece of paper and a pen. Quickly, but carefully writing "Gone down to get breakfast. Be back soon."and signing his name in the bottom corner, he propped the note on the bottom of Ryan's bed, then quietly snuck out of the room, making sure not to disturb his team.

* * *

After walking down to the cafeteria, Adam saw that Team CFVY, as well as Libby, were already there, and hurried over to them. "Hey, Adam." Coco said, the boy in question simply responding with "Hey, Coco.", before heading off to get his breakfast. After returning with his food, Adam saw that the rest of Team ARKS, as well as RWBY and JNPR, were entering the hall. After greeting each of his friends, Adam locked eyes with Kayleigh, who looked around at the group,as if signifying Adam to "Tell them." Clearing his throat, causing the whole of their group to fall silent, Adam began to speak. "Before we begin our work, Kayleigh and I have something to share."he said, looking at the girl in question, who nodded, before he turned back to face the group. "Kayleigh and I are dating."he said, causing a large cheer to erupt around the group, as each student offered their congratulations to the new couple. Adam then saw that Ruby hadn't moved, so he edged over to her, where she asked him, "She's the one, isn't she? She's the one you fell in love with.", receiving a few seconds of silence, before Adam nodded. "Sorry, Ruby, but she's the girl for me. Besides, you seem happier with Weiss."he said, looking over to the Ice Princess in question, who was busy talking to Phyrra, Kayleigh and Shannon. "Yeah, I am. Thanks for not hating me, Adam." Ruby said, Adam smiling, before he extended a fist. Bumping her fist against his, Ruby went over to watch the arm wrestle that was going on between Yang and Nora. It was at that moment Kayleigh walked over to Adam and asked, "She take it well?", as she had witnessed Adam's conversation with Ruby. Simply smiling and nodding, Adam then remembered the whole plan for their group today.

* * *

"Alright, seeing as we've got that out of the way, how about we get to work?"Adam asked, his whole group nodding, eager to start working against the Talons. "We're finished with our food, so we were just about to head off", Coco said, her team nodding. "Alright then, good luck! Be careful."Adam said, as Team CFVY started to leave, before he noticed that Libby was also leaving. "Can't keep you away from your boyfriend, can I, little sis?"he called out to her, causing her to shake her head. "Someone's gotta watch his back. Might as well be me."she stated, before Adam nodded, and she left to catch up with Team CFVY. After he saw them disappear out the cafeteria, he felt a bit bad for possibly putting his sister into danger, but his thoughts were interrupted by Kayleigh putting a hand on his shoulder. "She'll be fine, Adam. She's a big girl. Besides, she's with Yatsu, who you know will keep her safe."she said, causing Adam's tenseness to disappear. "I know, guess it's just my brotherly instincts coming into play."he said, before he turned back to his group.

* * *

"Well, we've got our own job to do, so how about we get started?"Blake asked to the whole table, every one of her friends nodding. "I don't want to turn to the teachers yet, so we'll start with the library. Sound good?"Adam asked, resulting in the group of Yang, Ruby, Nora and Jaune to faceplant onto the table. "Seriously, Adam? Why the library?"Yang groaned, before the hand of her girlfriend caught her attention. "Relax Yang. I'm pretty sure Adam doesn't need all of us there. Am I correct?"Blake said, looking to Adam for confirmation, which was received when he nodded. "Right. If any of you don't want to, feel free to spend the time doing what you want. We'll let you know what we find." Almost as soon as the words left his mouth, there was a flash of colour to signify that Yang, Nora, Jaune, as well as Ruby, had bolted. Adam simply smiled, as he knew that the four of them wouldn't have stood being in the library for a good length of time. "Alright, now that we know who's willing to stay in the library, how about we head there?"Adam said, his group rising to their feet.

* * *

 **About 3 hours later...**

"Nothing! We found nothing!"Adam said as the group exited the library, after spending the past three hours combing through various books, only finding the name of the Talons popping up periodically, but nothing more on their tactics. The only piece of information they were able to glean was the fact that the Talons were made publicly known five years ago, which they already knew from Adam's exposition the previous night. "Adam, I'm sure that we'll find something soon."Kayleigh said, in an attempt to pacify her boyfriend. After taking a deep breath, Adam seemed to calm down. Reaching into his pocket and withdrawing his scroll, he said, "Better see if Team CFVY's had better luck than us", before calling Coco's number. After ringing for a couple of seconds, she answered.

"Hey, Adam. What's up? Did you find anything?"she asked, Adam replying with, "Nothing we didn't already know. How about you?" There was a couple of seconds of silence, which ended with Coco saying, "We found that the Talons are meeting in a warehouse tonight. Nothing more than that, though." This caused Adam's face to light up, before he looked at his companions. "Adam, you know we're coming with you."Blake said, just as the group of Yang, Jaune, Ruby and Nora ran up, as Phyrra had let them know they were finished in the library. "I know. Get your gear ready, we hit them tonight."Adam said, his group heading to the armoury to grab their weapons and combat gear. "Coco, bring your team back. We'll need the strength for later."Adam said, Coco replying with, "Ok. We'll be back soon.", before hanging up.

* * *

 **2 hours later...**

"Alright, remember the plan. We go in, take any Talons out, and take no prisoners."Adam said, as he sat on a rooftop overlooking the warehouse Team CFVY had been told the Talons were meeting in. "Adam, we remember. Just let's get this done with already."the voice of Yang said. Sighing slightly, Adam simply looked back to the warehouse, where he focused his eyes on a pair of shadows that were heading towards the warehouse. "Showtime..."he said, as he stood up, pulled up his hood, and unsheathed Deathcaliber. Looking back at his group, he saw that they had already armed themselves. "Time to go to work..."he said, as they all leaped off the roof, landing quietly on the ground below. "Let's do this!"he heard Nora say, before he spied an opening on the roof of the warehouse. Pointing it out to his group, they all scaled the side of the building, careful not to make any noise. After they had all reached the roof, the whole group gathered around the opening, where they saw what appeared to be a rally for the Talons, with a cloaked figure on a stage, who appeared to be giving a speech. Seeing that the leader was standing in front of a large banner with the insignia of the Talons on it, Adam didn't hesitate before standing up and leaping through the opening in the roof, landing in a crouching position, but not before crushing at least five members of the Talons underneath him. Sighing, his group quickly joined Adam, causing the gathered Talons to look at each other, doubt clearly visible on their faces.

"Before we get started, does anyone want to back out?"Adam asked cockily, causing the room to fall deathly silent for a few seconds, before Adam saw a few Talons reaching for swords, and he smirked. "Alright..."he started, looking around at his friends, before he saw that Ryan nodded, and he finished his statement. "Game on!"

* * *

 **Not even 5 minutes later...**

Needless to say, it was a bloodbath. The Talons weren't coordinated, and those that tried to run from the battle, only got a bullet or blade to the back of the head, as the students of Beacon weren't planning on letting anyone leave alive. After a few minutes, all of the Talons lay on the ground, either dead or dying, and there was the stomach churning smell of blood on the air. This is what caused Adam and his group to evacuate the warehouse, before they were discovered by the authorities.

* * *

 **Back at Beacon...**

After they had run all the way to Beacon, and had snuck in through Team ARKS's dorm window, each member of the group went to their respective team's dormitories, to both clean themselves of the bloody clothes and to dissuade suspicions of their whereabouts that evening. Thankfully, this plan worked, for at least a couple of hours, before the school's tannoy system called out, "Will Teams ARKS, RWBY, JNPR, CFVY and their friends report to the Headmaster's office? Immediately!" After this announcement, the group's various team members looked at each other, before they got up and ran to the elevators, all the while dreading the possible retribution of the Headmaster.

After the elevator doors opened, Adam and his group were actually intimidated by Ozpin's solemn expression, as well as the furious expression on General Ironwood's face. "Adam, I recognize that I cannot stop you from continuing on this crusade against the Talons, and your friends have chosen to stand with you, but your 'investigations' will need to be more discrete in the future, to avoid publicity like this..."Ozpin said, tossing a scroll to Adam, who caught it and immediately saw the headline "BRUTAL MASSACRE IN VALE WAREHOUSE. NO SURVIVORS." Resisting the urge to smile, Adam looked back to Ozpin, who simply had an expression devoid of any emotion, making it hard for Adam to judge his thoughts on the matter.

"Apologies, sir. We'll try and be less brutal when conducting our investigations in the future."Adam said, not even attempting to lie to the Headmaster, to the shock of everyone present. Ironwood, in particular, was livid. "Ozpin, you can't seriously be letting this boy off with this? He and his friends cut down these individuals without any mercy! They should at least be confined to their rooms, to ensure nothing like this happens again!"the General said, causing Ozpin to sigh. "General, as much as I would like to stop the constant back and forth between Adam and his brother, we all heard what Adam said. The Split Auras can only be killed by their other half. That makes the situation difficult, as we can't lock up Adam, and make him a sitting duck for his brother, who'll I'll remind you, is the head of the most feared terrorist group on Remnant. If we were to lock him up, we'd just as well be serving him on a silver platter. And lastly, extreme though their methods may be, Adam and his friends are still my students, and they are doing what they have to to survive. Aren't I right, Adam?"Ozpin said, looking at Adam when asking his question. Adam simply nodded in response. "Correct, sir. It's a classic survival of the fittest scenario. I would just like to add that all the blame for the events that transpire, now or in the future, can be placed squarely on me. The others are simply doing what I ask. They have the opportunity to back out."he said, causing the other students to look at him, but they saw he was deathly serious. "Very well, Adam, I'll let you off this time, but on one condition."Ozpin said, Adam squirming a little bit under his piercing gaze, but nodding in the end. "I want you to notify me or Professor Goodwitch when you uncover any new information. That way we can at least keep an eye on you. Sound good?"Ozpin asked, Adam hesitating, before he nodded. "Good. Now, you are free to go."Ozpin said, causing Adam and his group to exit the office, just as Ironwood turned to him, an angry look in his eye...

* * *

As soon as the group exited the elevators, they all let out a huge sigh of relief. "That was way too close!"Velvet said, causing everyone else to agree, before they all saw Weiss turn to Adam angrily. "Just what the hell were you thinking? You can't just take the blame for something like this on your shoulders!"she shouted, causing Adam to sigh, before he explained. "I did it to protect you lot. Like I said, you all didn't have to join me, I would have been fine on my own. But you lot insisted. Now, if I take the blame for any future events, you lot are guaranteed to get off free." This caused the group to look at him in shock, as they were surprised how much he was willing to look out for his friends. "I know that my brother is after me alone, and I may die, but I'm not letting my friends get dragged down with me."Adam said, before he started to turn towards the dormitories. "You guys are more than just friends to me. Given that you didn't abandon me when you found out that I was an SAI, I consider you lot the family I never had. I'll do whatever it takes to protect that."he said, before he walked off. The rest of the group looked at each other briefly, before they followed him.

* * *

They only managed to make it as far as the statue in Beacon's courtyard, before they saw that Adam was talking to an Atlesian soldier who, Ryan noticed, was slowly reaching for a pistol holstered at his waist. Looking behind the soldier, Ryan saw a large number of the same soldiers standing behind him. "Is there a problem?"Ryan asked, stepping forward, and causing the head soldier to turn to him. "Yes, you and your friends here have all had arrest warrants issued by General Ironwood. Please come quietly, or there will be trouble." the soldier said, placing a hand on the pistol. Looking back to his friends, Adam saw that they all had the same confused look on their faces. "When were these warrants issued?"Adam asked, turning back to his interrogator. The soldier hesitated, before he answered, "Just now." This caused Adam and his friends to freeze up. "But..."Adam heard Ruby say, before he saw that there was another figure with the soldiers. "Ironwood."Adam growled, as he recognized the figure, who turned to face him when adressed. "You backstabbing bastard!"Ryan roared, when he saw who it was. "I'm truly sorry for this, but I have to do my job. You lot are too dangerous to be left alone. Men, take them!"Ironwood said, as his men surrounded Adam's group. As the soldiers activated stun batons, Adam heard Ironwood say, under his breath...

"This should please the Talons. Forgive me."

* * *

 **A/N: Oh, Ironwood! If only you knew about how much of a mistake you've just made. And that mistake is pissing off Adam! Well, see you lot next chapter! Madman out!**


	15. Traitors

**A/N: Welcome back to RoTA! Sorry I've been inactive lately, damn internet connection screwed me over. Anyways, enjoy!**

* * *

 **CHAPTER 15- Traitors**

"You gotta be fucking kidding me!"Adam said, as the reality of what Ironwood said sank in. "You're with the Talons?"he asked, Ironwood nodding in response. "I'm sorry, but I have no choice. This war you've started endangers us all, Adam, not just you! For the sake of our people's survival, a deal had to be made with your brother!" Ironwood said, before he raised a pistol of his own, and aimed it at Adam's head. "Now, if I hand you over, your brother will leave our people alone. All I ask is that you and your friends drop your weapons, and allow me to take you into custody. If you refuse, you are condemning thousands of innocent lives to death!"He continued, before he noticed that Adam was shaking. Suddenly, there was a terrifying laugh coming from Adam, who had clenched his fists so tight his hands were bleeding again. Adam then spoke, in a deep growl, causing his friends and the surrounding soldiers to take a step back.

"You think that my brother's going to stop with me? After he kills me, he's going to tear a bloody swath through this world, leaving nothing but death and destruction in his wake! You've been played, Ironwood! Played, like the halfwit you are!"He said, before he launched himself forward using his semblance, drawing his sword while doing so. Almost in a "blink and you'll miss it" fashion, Adam had opened the stomachs of each of the soldiers Ironwood had brought with him. Before the last one hit the ground, covered in his own life force, Adam had leapt towards Ironwood, but he was sent flying by a shot from the General's pistol. "You're brother promised me he'd show me how to eliminate the Grimm permanently. Tell me that's not a cause worth dying for!"Ironwood said, before Adam got back to his feet, laughing maniacally once again. "You can't trust him, Ironwood! He will betray you, just as I'm sure he's done to anyone else who has trusted him! But I see I can't change your mind, so I suppose we're at an impasse."he said, before Ironwood raised his pistol again. "No, Robertson. We are at an end!"Ironwood quietly spoke, before going to pull the trigger, but Adam had anticipated that, and before Ironwood could react, Adam had sped forward and cut off his hand, sending it flying, along with his pistol. "Too slow, General!" Adam said, before he landed a kick to his opponent's chest, sending him to the ground. It was at that moment that Ozpin arrived, took one look at Adam, and spoke. "Adam, take him into custody. Try not to kill him."he said, Adam simply replying with "No guarantees!", before he went to deal another blow to Ironwood, but the General had grabbed his pistol with his remaining hand and shot at Adam, but the shot had been blocked by Ozpin's cane.

"Damn!" Ironwood said, before he picked himself up and started to run towards an airship. Before Adam and his friends could follow him, Ozpin held them back. "Forget about him. You won't catch him." He said solemnly, as the airship rose into the sky and disappeared. Taking a deep breath, Adam turned to Ozpin, before he smiled. "Well, that happened."Adam said, causing a smile to appear on Ozpin's face. "Well, I have to apologize for what happened here. I had my suspicions about Ironwood for a while, but it seems he was far more of a traitor than I thought."the Headmaster said, before he looked to the bodies of the soldiers strewn about. "If you all could dispose of these, then return to your rooms, it would be greatly appreciated." With that, he turned and started to walk away. "Where should we put them?" Ryan asked, before the Headmaster nodded his head towards the cliff overlooking the Emerald Forest. "I suppose we could feed the Grimm this one time."he said, before he disappeared into the Academy. Adam then turned to his group, shrugged, then shifted the corpse of a soldier onto his back. He then started to walk towards the cliff, his friends mimicking him.

* * *

When they had finished disposing of the soldiers, which they did by laying them onto the metal squares that launched them into the Emerald Forest in their initiation, then watched as their bodies flew through the air, Adam even having to help Ren restrain Nora, as she thought it 'looked like fun', they walked back into the school, and quickly departed to their respective dormitories. After bidding the rest of their group goodnight, ARKS entered into their dorm, and all of them immediately fell onto their respective beds. "Well, who gets first shower?"Adam asked, before they all fell silent for a moment. "Well, seeing as you're covered in blood, Adam..."Kayleigh said, nodding to her boyfriend, who was indeed covered in blood, causing Adam to smile. "Alright, back out in a bit."he said, before he blurred out of his spot. A second later, they heard the bathroom door shut then lock.

"He can take a bit too long in the shower. Thank god those things are Dust-powered, so they never run low on hot water. While we wait, think of anything to do?" Ryan said, the two girls shaking their head, before Shannon finished a bottle of water she'd plucked from thin air. "We could play a game."Shannon suggested, causing her teammates to nod. "What you thinking?"Kayleigh asked, which was answered by Shannon placing the bottle on the floor. "Truth or Dare."the girl in white said, causing the yellow and red wearing individuals to nod. "Alright, I'll start."Shannon said, before she spun the bottle. Once it stopped, it was pointing to Ryan. With a devilish smile on her face, Shannon asked: "Alright partner, Truth or Dare?", causing Ryan to gulp, before he answered...

After spending what to him was a relatively short time, but was in reality about 10 minutes, Adam exited the bathroom, in his pyjamas, and his eyes were immediately drawn to his teammates, who were playing a game that he instantly recognized. "Ah, Truth or Dare."he said, falling to a sitting position on the floor, with Kayleigh on his right, and Ryan on his left. "Who's turn is it?"he asked, just as the bottle stopped on him. "Damnit." "Truth or Dare?"Shannon asked, which Adam took a second to think, before he said, "Dare." This caused Shannon to smile evily, before she gave Adam his dare. "I want you to kiss Kayleigh, for at least 20 seconds." Adam simply smiled, before he looked at his partner, who nodded, before they both leaned in. As soon as their lips connected, all outside noise fell away, and their eyes rolled shut. After the specified time went by, Ryan said, "Alright, that's time guys! You can stop now!" This caused Adam to pull away, with a smug grin on his face, and Kayleigh with her face blushing. "You alright there, babe?"Adam asked, which his girlfriend nodded her confirmation of. "Yep."was all she breathed out, before she regained her composure. "Your turn to spin then, Adam."she said, which caused Adam to quickly do as she said, and spin the bottle. This time, it stopped on Shannon, causing him to smile.

" _Payback Time._ "Adam thought to himself, before he asked Shannon,"Truth or Dare?", to which Shannon immediately replied, "Truth." This caused Adam to smile for a moment, before he asked: "Is there anyone you fancy in the school?" This caused Ryan and Kayleigh to look towards him, smiling, before they turned back to Shannon expectantly. She hesitated for a moment, before she answered: "No. I do not hold a romantic interest in anyone at this school." This caused Ryan and Kayleigh's faces to fall, and Adam to nod. They continued the game for a few more minutes, the other three departing to the shower at different times, before they called an end to the game. "Well, as fun as this was, I'm fucking knackered, so I'm going to turn in."Adam said, all three of his teammates nodding, before Shannon picked up the bottle, and went to throw it in the bin, only for Adam to catch it, and place it on top of the desk. "Just for the future."he said, causing Shannon to nod, before all four of them fell asleep...

* * *

A couple of months passed after that, and there was no attack from the Talons, or any news on Ironwood. While this caused his friends to be happy, as they thought they had won, but Adam could only feel uneasy, as there was a nagging feeling in the back of his head that his brother wouldn't give up that easy. He had counted a number of times where he had found his mind wandering, as he tried to think on what his brother and Ironwood were planning, only for him to draw a complete blank. It was starting to piss him off, and his friends knew it. They tried everything to get him to calm down, from Yang and Nora helping him out with the punching bags in the gym, to Ren teaching him some meditation techniques. Thankfully, they worked, and Adam soon returned to his normal, albeit lazy, self.

* * *

One day, about halfway through a History of Remnant lesson, the door opened, and Professor Ozpin walked in. "Apologies, Doctor Oobleck. I was hoping to speak with a few of your pupils?"the Headmaster asked, which was replied to with a nod from Oobleck. "Splendid! Teams ARKS, RWBY, JNPR, and Miss Robertson, please."he said, causing the specified students to rise from their seats. After walking out the classroom, they saw that Ozpin had already brought Team CFVY. "Now that you're all here, there's someone who wants to speak with you all in my office." Looking at each other in confusion, the students quickly fell into line behind Ozpin, and followed him to his office. When the elevator doors opened, they saw a hooded figure standing in the middle of the office, with Professor Goodwitch standing behind them. "Alright, now this will come as a shock to you, but I want your word that you will not do anything rash. Understand?"Ozpin asked, causing Adam and his friends to look at one another, before they turned to the Headmaster and nodded. "Very well."Ozpin said, before he nodded to the hooded figure, who reached up and pulled their hood down. As the hood fell, Adam and his group were shocked to see that it was the face of the cat Faunus who had helped Jamie in the skirmish in Beacon's courtyard: Rachel Kirkwood. Immediately, Adam's friends reached for their weapons, but were stopped by an arm from none other than Adam himself. "Remember, we gave our word. Nothing rash."the boy in black said, causing his friends to sheathe their weapons, before he looked to Rachel.

"Let me guess: Jamie send you?"Adam asked, expecting a nod, but he was shocked to see that Rachel shook her head. "He doesn't even know I'm here."the girl said, before she continued. "I'm here of my own accord, and for one thing."she said, causing Adam to furrow his brow in confusion. "Which would be...?"he asked, signalling for her to continue speaking. She took a deep breath, before she replied. "I want to help take your brother down."

Rachel's reply stunned Adam for a second, but before he could speak up, Rachel cut him off, as she continued speaking. "I know that may seem hard to believe, but I have fully turned my back on the Talons, and your brother. Subject me to any lie detector test you want, and I'll prove that I'm wanting to reform." This caused Adam's group to take a step back, before Adam himself replied with a single word. "Why?"he asked, causing Rachel to hesitate, before she a answered. "To put it bluntly, he doesn't give a damn about anything other than killing you, Robertson. Anything that he sees as a threat to that goal, he destroys, be it a man, woman or child. I tolerated that at first, but I eventually saw how evil he really is, when I saw the plans he has. He's planning on marching every single Talon on Vale, and by extension, Beacon. And he's going to kill every person that gets in his way, without any mercy, until he gets what he wants."Rachel said, causing Adam's group to look at their leader, who had fell to his knees in shock.

"All those deaths will be on my head if I don't turn myself over to him." Adam said, before clenching his hand into a fist, and slamming it into the floor of the office. "FUCK!"He roared, and his aura became visible, almost to the scale of a supernova, causing everyone present to cover their eyes, before it died down, and he stood up. "How long?"the boy in black asked, with a large amount of anger evident in his voice, before Rachel answered. "A year. Two at most."she said, causing Adam to nod.

"While I don't fully trust you, Rachel, I'm thankful for you risking your life to do this." Adam said, before slowly extending a hand to Rachel, to the shock of everyone present, which was hesitantly taken. "Alright, now to see if you're genuine in your claims of wanting to reform. It will take a long time, but you've got to earn our trust, so we can see for ourselves if your claims hold any water. Sound good?"he asked, Rachel nodding in affirmative. "Alright, then! Ryan..."he said, before his best friend stepped forward. "Take her to the spare uniform area. See if you can find one her size?" Ryan nodded, and both he and Rachel departed. "Oh, and Ryan?" Adam asked, causing Ryan to turn back, "She's your responsibility. If she messes up, it's on you."

After the doors to the elevator shut, Adam turned to Ozpin. "Well, seems like we've got this sorted out. That OK with you, Professor?" Surprisingly, the Headmaster nodded, before he spoke. "I'll start getting her student records sorted. She'll need a dorm..."Ozpin started, before Adam spoke up, cutting him off. "She'll stay with my team, so we can keep an eye on her." With the affirmative nod from Ozpin, Adam and his group left the room.

* * *

"Adam..."the voice of Pyrrha said, and he detected a large amount of venom in her voice, before he interrupted her. "Look, guys, I know you think I jumped to trust stage a bit too quickly there, but I didn't. I don't trust her at all. But I believe that everyone, good or bad, deserves a second chance. I know some of you've got problems with her, so you'll need to talk them over with her. She's staying here, and that's final. Got a problem with that?" He asked, his group nodding, before Teams JNPR CFVY departed in a huff. "They were the ones knocked out by Rachel in the skirmish."Ruby explained, causing Adam to nod in understanding. "Alright, so I'm guessing you lot at least trust my judgment?"he asked the remaining students, who nodded. "Good, now let's find those two."he said, before he led his friends to the spare uniform area, where Ryan was standing outside a cubicle.

"She's in there. Where's JNPR and CFVY?"Ryan asked, before the Adam's face said it all. "They'll come round."he said, before the door opened, and Rachel walked out in her new uniform. "Does it look alright?"she asked,the boys shrugging, but the girls nodding. "Honestly, boys. No sense of fashion at all..."Weiss quipped, looking towards Adam and Ryan. Leaning towards Ryan, Adam whispered in his ear: "Says the girl who wears the same dress day in, day out." This caused Ryan to snigger, and Weiss, who had somehow heard Adam, to exclaim, "It's a combat skirt!", before Ruby appeared behind her, exclaiming, "Yeah!", before giving Weiss a down low high five. "Alright...Rachel, you're thinking with me and Team ARKS. Sound Okay?"Adam asked, the Faunus girl nodding. "It's fine." With that, Adam led the group to the dorms, and after receiving dark looks from Teams CFVY and JNPR, Team RWBY and Libby left ARKS to introduce the new girl to her home for the foreseeable future. After rustling about in the closet for a minute, Adam withdrew a duvet and a pillow. "We don't have a couch, so you'll have to take the chair. Sound good?"he asked, pointing to the rocking chair, before he saw the Faunus nod. "I'll be fine, I can sleep anywhere."she said, before she slipped into the bathroom to get changed. After she emerged, and the rest of Team ARKS had gotten changed, they all went to their respective beds, and quickly fell asleep.

* * *

 **A/N: And there we have it! You gain an enemy, you gain a friend! I know who I'm pairing the new arrival with, but I want to see if you can guess who. Till next chapter. Madman out!**


	16. The Tension Builds

**A/N: Welcome back to RoTA! I know you've all been waiting for this, so I hope it lives up to your expectations! Enjoy!**

* * *

 **Chapter 16- The Tension Builds**

After the hectic events of the previous night, Adam was thankful that his latest addition to the group hadn't tried to slit his throat while he slept, but he still couldn't shake the feeling that she knew more she was letting on. Despite this, Rachel seemed to be making huge attempts to make friends with Adam and his group, and while he wouldn't admit it publicly, he was starting to slowly trust the cat eared girl, who had already managed to get into the good graces of the R,B & Y of Team RWBY, as well as the other three members of Team ARKS and his sister. Weiss, being the resident Ice Queen, was maintaining a shield of silence between her and Rachel, which the Faunus quickly learned was a sign to 'back the fuck off.' Teams JNPR and CFVY were still in a mood with Adam, so they remained absolutely silent, and only talked with each other, ignoring the other individuals present, except for Libby, as she was dating Yatsuhashi. It seemed in trying to give a potential new friend a chance, Adam was in danger of losing some as well, but he simply brushed it off, and continued to converse with the group members that at the very least trusted his judgement. As he had quickly noticed, Rachel seemed to be most comfortable with talking to either Ryan, who Adam had placed her responsibility on, so that was understandable, or, to the surprise of everyone, Blake, which Rachel revealed was due to the fact that they were both cat Faunus.

Almost everyone's necks had snapped towards Blake at that revelation, and she calmly nodded. She had explained that she had a pair of cat ears underneath her bow, and she wore that bow to avoid being discriminated against. In her words, she "wanted people to see her for who she was, not what." This had shocked everyone present at the table, except for Team RWBY, who Adam guessed already knew, and Adam himself. When questioned about how he knew, he had defended himself by saying, "Having a bow is fine, Blake. Having one that twitches is weird.", seeing as he had noticed that detail. That seemed to disperse a lot of suspicion away from him.

* * *

Despite these revelations, and the tension between him and a part of his group, Adam's life at Beacon seemed to gradually return to normal. Unfortunately for him, normal also came with the unpleasantness of Cardin Winchester. A couple of weeks after Rachel's arrival, Adam had led his group to the cafeteria, before they had heard a familiar voice calling out. Turning, they had seen Cardin pulling at one of Rachel's cat ears, causing all of her friends to grow enraged at Cardin's actions. Adam had seen Ryan cracking his knuckles, preparing for a fight, but he had held him back. "Not yet."was all that he had said, before stepping towards Cardin. "I thought we'd been over this, Cardin. How many times do I have to put you on life support before you get the hint? Leave the Faunus alone." This caused Cardin to release Rachel, before turning towards Adam. "Easy thing to say, when you've got backup."the boy growled, looking at Adam's entourage. "You're right. Guys?"Adam said, causing his group to depart, taking Rachel up to a far table at the other end of the hall. "You were saying?"Adam then asked, turning back towards Cardin, who scowled, seeing as Adam had beaten him at the game he had unknowingly set. "Whatever. We're done here."Cardin said, before he barged past Adam, and walked out the cafeteria. Breathing slowly, Adam unclenched the fist he had made, and went to join his friends, who congratulated him on how well he handled the situation. "Ah, it was nothing!"He said, waving a hand carelessly. "I mean, it is Cardin after all." This caused a short bit of applause, before Adam noticed Teams CFVY and JNPR fixing Rachel with a death glare.

" _Alright, that's it. I have to end this, before something major happens. But how?_ "he thought to himself, before he quickly came up with a solution. Tapping Rachel on her shoulder to gain her attention, he asked, "Can you follow me? I need to talk with you privately." After a quick nod from Rachel, who stood up, Adam walked her over to the table JNPR and CFVY were sitting at together, and asked them to follow them. After a brief moment of hesitation, the two teams rose to their feet, and followed the two out of the cafeteria. After leading them all the way to the training ring, Adam spoke up. "Alright, Teams JNPR, CFVY. I know you don't have the best of intentions towards Rachel, given how she knocked you all unconscious. Frankly, I'm amazed that she managed to take on all of you at once, and win. So, I'm going to give you a chance to vent your anger."he explained, causing the two teams to nod, and Rachel's face to pale. Turning to Adam, she started to speak, "Adam, I can't...", before Adam cut her off. "Relax, I won't let them hurt you too much. Now, can you take a punch?"he asked, the girl slowly nodding. "Alright then, you'll be fine."he said, before he turned to the teams. "We're doing a doubles match. Team JNPR, Team CFVY, send your best fighters out to represent you. They'll be going against Rachel and I." This caused the teams to huddle up, before Pyrrha and Yatsuhashi split off to stand in front of them. "Alright, so Pyrrha. You're carrying the anger of JNPR, and Yatsu's carrying the anger of CFVY. Sound good?"he asked, receiving silent nods from the two.

"What if we win?"Yatsu asked, Adam simply shrugging in response. "You leave knowing that your teams have got their payback on Rachel. If we win, you hold no hard feelings towards her, or those of us who trust her. Either way, no matter what way this ends, it ends here. Sound good?" This caused the two, as well as their teams, to nod, before the sound of the door opening drew their attention. Looking over, they all saw that the rest of their group had entered, Ryan leading them. "Thought we'd come watch the show!"He said, before sitting down. Nodding, the remainders of JNPR and CFVY went to grab seats as well. Smirking, Adam drew Deathcaliber, causing his friends to draw their weapons. "Ready?"he asked, before he got into a crouched position, Deathcaliber behind him. "Ready!"the other combatants said, before Ryan's voice started to count down...

"3!"

Adam saw that Pyrrha looked towards Yatsu, and nod, which caused him to smirk.

"2!"

He looked towards Rachel, who was visibly shaking, and winked.

"1!"

Finally, he put one foot in front of the other, and leant back.

"Begin!"

Immediately, Adam phased in front of Yatsu and Pyrrha, grabbing both of their dominant arms, before ducking through the gap in between them, and flipping them onto their backs. "Too slow!"He said, as both picked themselves up, before Yatsu charged forward, his blade raised. Before the samurai brought the weapon down, he was thrown to the floor by a blast of energy. Looking over, Adam saw that Rachel had a hammer that could transform into a energy rifle. "Watch out!"Rachel called out, before Adam turned to see Pyrrha's shield obscure his vision, and a loud ringing in his head. A second later, he felt the hard impact of the arena's wall, as he became imbedded into it.

"Keep it up, Yatsu! We've almost got them!"Pyrrha shouted, causing Adam to chuckle, before he wrenched his body out of the wall. "No Pyrrha, this is where we get you!"He whispered, before disappearing in a black blur. His opponents, skilled though they may have been, simply couldn't keep up with how fast Adam was moving. Even Rachel was in awe of the spectacle. First, Pyrrha fell, her Aura holding up well against Adam's onslaught, but her legs got sweeped out from under her, sending her airborne, before a final kick to her back sent her flying, crashing into the floor, and causing her Aura to enter the red zone, eliminating her from the match. Then, Adam turned to Yatsu, who had picked himself up from the whirlwind Adam had generated. Immediately, he went into turbo mode again, landing hit after hit to Yatsu, before landing a double kick combo to Yatsu's head, sending him to the floor, and leaping on top of him and driving Deathcaliber into the ground next to Yatsu's head. "We...win."Adam breathed out, before he collapsed, releasing his hold on his sword. As the rest of their group cheered, Yatsu and Pyrrha picked themselves up, then headed towards Rachel, who shrunk back a little, but her fears were for naught, as Pyrrha held out her hand. "Well fought."she said, as Rachel shook her hand, before she done the same with Yatsuhashi. "No hard feelings?"Yatsu asked, Rachel simply nodding. With that, Teams CFVY & JNPR departed from the arena, telling their friends they'd hold their table for them. As the members of Teams ARKS and RWBY congratulated Rachel, Ryan noticed that Adam hadn't moved from when he had collapsed during the battle. Excusing himself from the group, he went over to Adam's side, and saw that Adam was still unconscious, which caused a sliver of concern to hit him, before he chuckled, and lightly kicked Adam in his side, causing his leader to groan. "Oh, you should know never to wake me when I'm sleeping off Aura depletion, Ryan. Remember what happened last time?"Adam asked, as he pulled himself into a sitting position. "Yeah, I do. I also remember what happened last time you exerted yourself that much. You keep pushing yourself like this, Adam, you're gonna make it easier for your brother to take you down."Ryan said, causing Adam to groan before he nodded. "Right, I'm fine. I can already feel my Aura returning. You go catch up with the rest of the group."he said, gesturing towards their friends. Nodding, Ryan stood up, before he walked towards the group, as Kayleigh took his place next to Adam.

"You alright, Adam?"she asked, as she helped Adam up. "Yeah, I'm fine, babe. Nothing major, just pushed myself a bit further than I usually do. I'll be back to full Aura in a bit."he said, just as a small glow appeared on his hand, before beginning to crawl up his arm. "See, no problem."he continued, before he headed towards his friends, who had just finished congratulating Rachel, before they parted to allow Adam to talk to Rachel. Shrinking back slightly, Rachel's fears were dispelled when Adam extended his hand to rest on her shoulder. "Welcome to the group."he said, causing Rachel to smile, before he took his leave, and Ryan came up to take his place. "Well done, you just gained his trust. Now c'mon, we should catch up to him."he said, before he led the remaining members of the group back to the cafeteria.

* * *

After the group had mended their relationship, the bell rung for their next class, which was History of Remnant with Dr Oobleck. Quickly gathering their things, the group headed for the class, which quickly ended up being as boring as it ever was. Adam restrained himself from planting his head on the table and calling it there, but he was quickly brought to attention by Ryan poking a pencil into his side, before he gestured to the other side of the room, where Dr Oobleck was yammering on about some General during the Great War, all of which Adam knew about, but the coffee buzzed teacher had turned to Jaune, asking, "Why did the General underestimate the Faunus and lose the ambush he had attempted?"Jaune stammered for a moment, before Adam saw his gaze wander over to Pyrrha, who was miming towards her eyes, but Jaune didn't get the hint, and answered quickly, "Binoculars!" This caused Pyrrha and the rest of Adam's group to facepalm themselves, whilst the sneering chuckle of Cardin Winchester drew the teacher's attention. "Very funny, Mr Arc. See me after class. Mr Winchester, any ideas?"he asked the boy a row behind Jaune, who simply said, "Well, I know it's easier to train an animal than a soldier.", which caused Adam and his friends to clench their fists, before Adam turned towards Cardin. "You're not the most open-minded of individuals, are you, Cardin?"he asked, grabbing the boy's attention. "What, you got a problem?"Cardin spat, turning towards Adam, who simply smirked, before he replied. "Yes, actually, but I also have the answer. It's night vision."he said, causing Cardin to glare at him, and his friends to smile, before the teacher gestured for him to continue. "All Faunus are known to have near perfect sight in the dark."Adam said, before Ryan spoke up on his right. "The General made the mistake of trying to attack the Faunus in their sleep, but his enemies turned the fight on him and captured him. Maybe if he had paid attention in class, he wouldn't be remembered as such a failure."Ryan said, shooting a look towards Cardin, who rose out his chair, before Oobleck spoke up. "Mr Winchester, sit down." Grumbling, Cardin lowered back down into his chair, before the teacher spoke once more. "See me after class as well. As for you, Mr Robertson and Mr Clougherty, well done for the correct answer."he said, causing Adam and Ryan to nod briefly, before the bell rang. "Ah, and it seems our time has been cut short, once again, my friends! Remember, if you do not learn from your past...,"Oobleck started, before the class cut him off, "...you're doomed to repeat it!"

* * *

After the class ended, Adam's group departed for their various dorms, with Pyrrha remaining behind to wait for Jaune. After the members of Team ARKS and Rachel entered their dorm, Adam immediately flopped onto his bed, before he pulled himself up into a sitting position. "So, what do you want to do, now?"he asked, as Kayleigh sat down next to him and placed her head on his shoulder. Putting his arm round her, Adam pulled her closer to him, before their friends shrugged, signifying they had no ideas on how to spend the rest of their time. "Actually..."Ryan started, before he got up and walked over to the desk in the room. Pulling open a drawer, he reached in and withdrew a small box, before he walked back in front of Adam. "I've got something for you."he said, as he opened the container to show Adam the contents. Reaching his hand into the box, Adam withdrew what seemed to be a small length of metal, but looking closer, he saw it was an ammo clip for his sword's rifle mode. "Look at the back." Ryan said, causing Adam to turn the clip round, and he saw a nuclear symbol. Eyes widening, he looked at Ryan. "You didn't..."he started, before Ryan nodded. "That's Thermobaric Ammo. You did have the idea. I managed to finish it this morning."Ryan explained, causing the rest of ARKS to gape in shock, as Rachel had a look of confusion. "Thermobaric?"the cat-eared girl asked, before Adam turned to her. "Mini Nukes, basically. From what I've gathered, this is the best way to kill an SAI, both Split and Complete."he explained, causing Rachel's face to pale. "You made a way to kill your brother."she guessed, causing Adam to shake his head. "Not Jamie. Me."he said bluntly, causing his team to freeze in shock. "If I kill Jamie, I have to absorb his Aura. The Dark Half may then cause me to go rogue. If that happens, Ryan, I want you to use this...on me."he said, placing the clip back into the box and handing it to Ryan. "Promise me."he ordered Ryan, who hesitated, before he nodded. "Good. Now, it's Saturday tomorrow, so I suggest we get some sleep."Adam said, causing the team to depart to their respective beds, with Adam giving Kayleigh a kiss before she departed to her bed.

* * *

As Adam lay down on his bed, unable to fall asleep, he looked at the ceiling before him, getting lost in the plain white colour. The next time he looked at his scroll, he saw that three hours had passed. Deciding to get some air, he pulled himself out of bed, and snuck out the door. Making it up to the roof without getting caught by a teacher, except for a close call where he was nearly caught by Professor Port, Adam reached the roof, and sat himself down at the edge, looking out at Beacon. A few minutes passed, before he heard a noise behind him, and stiffening slightly, he then smirked. "Hello...brother."he said, turning to meet the figure who was approaching him, and as they sat next to him, he saw that it was indeed his brother. "You here to kill me, then?"Adam asked, but he was surprised to see Jamie shake his head.

"You are unarmed, and there is no honour in killing an unarmed opponent. Besides, the traitor Rachel has told you of my plans, so I will wait for the final battle between us before I take your life. At least then, I hope you will present a decent challenge at best."Jamie explained. Nodding, Adam looked away from his nemesis, to gaze out over Vale. Turning back to his brother, he made one simple statement. "If you win, spare the family I have here. This is between you and me."he asked, Jamie taking a second before he nodded. "Very well, they shall not be harmed, but if any of them fall in the battle, I cannot be held accountable."the older Robertson brother said, receiving a short bow of the head from Adam. "Very well, I'll see you then...Adam."Jamie said, getting to his feet. "See you around...Jamie."Adam replied in kind, before Jamie leapt off the building, landing in shadow, before disappearing.

 _"Honour. That's something I thought he'd forgotten. I'll be damned."_ Adam thought to himself, before a noise behind him signified he had more company. "Adam?"the voice of his girlfriend asked, causing Adam to turn around, a smile on his face, before Kayleigh continued spoke again. "Was that...Jamie?"she asked, Adam trying to formulate a reply that would convince her otherwise, but coming up short, he simply nodded. "Yeah, it was."he said, Kayleigh walking up to him, before she winded her hand back and slapped him. Raising a hand to his now stinging cheek, Adam looked at the furious face of his girlfriend. "What the hell was he doing here, Adam?"she asked, her voice raised. "He decided to come and let me know that he wants me to survive until the invasion. Also, before you even ask, I know he's trying to kill me, but the one thing that still makes me tolerate him is that he has an impeccable sense of honour. He won't kill an unarmed opponent, as he believes it's not an 'honourable kill'. That's one of the few idiosyncrasies that doesn't make me hate him." Adam explained, as the stinging feeling in his cheek disappeared. Hesitating for a moment, Kayleigh finally nodded. "Alright, all I want to know is, will he be back?"she questioned, with Adam slowly shook his head. "No, he won't. And to think, I simply came out here to get some fresh air. Which reminds me, why'd you come up here?"he asked, looking at Kayleigh questionably. "As sneaky as you think you are, you are noisy enough to wake me up, Adam."she said bluntly, causing Adam to scratch the back of his neck meekly. "Alright, fair enough. Now, I suggest we head back down, before we catch our death up here."he said, as his girlfriend nodded. With that, he took her hand and led her back towards their dorm. After they had slipped back into the room, Kayleigh hesitated for a moment, before she tapped Adam on the shoulder as he was getting into his bed, causing him to turn to her. "If it's not too much trouble, could I...sleep with you tonight? Just so I know where you are."she asked quietly, causing Adam to smirk slightly, before he pulled back the covers and allowed her to crawl in next to him.

 _"Well, this I could get used to."_ Adam thought to himself, as Kayleigh cuddled into him. Wrapping an arm around her, it wasn't long before they both fell into the arms of sleep...

* * *

 **A/N: And there we go! I've got to say, this may be the most varied chapter I've ever wrote. This one had revelations, a fight scene, a moment taken straight from the show but edited, and finally, some fluff to top it off. Hope see you all next chapter. Madman out!**


	17. Partner's Day

**A/N: And welcome back to RoTA! I'm actually proud of this chapter. I decided to do a nice peaceful chapter, after the conflict that was last chapter. Enjoy!**

* * *

 **Chapter 17- Partner's Day**

After pulling himself from the grasp of sleep, Adam saw that the other members of Team ARKS were awake, but Kayleigh was still asleep in his arms. Looking back up, Adam saw that Ryan had the biggest smirk on his face. Carefully letting go of Kayleigh, Adam slid out of the bed, then turned to his team. "We miss something last night?" Ryan asked, Adam's face darkening. "Bite me."he remarked, causing Ryan to chuckle. "Right..."he started, looking at his watch to check the time, "...I need a shower. See you in a bit."he finished, grabbing spare clothes and entering the bathroom. He noticed that Kayleigh was starting to stir as he closed the door.

* * *

After Adam had finished his shower and changed into his clothes, he stepped out of the bathroom, but he was caught off guard by Ryan, who immediately punched him, sending him sprawling onto the bathroom floor. "You son of a bitch, Adam! When were you planning on telling us Jamie came to talk to you last night?"Ryan yelled, before Adam flipped back onto his feet. "I guess Kayleigh's told you?"he asked, looking past Ryan to look at his girlfriend, who simply said, "They deserve to know, Adam." Nodding, Adam turned back to Ryan. "Yeah, Jamie talked to me. I didn't know he was going to be there. We didn't fight, he just wanted to tell me to stay alive until his big invasion."he explained, which caused Ryan to nod in understanding. "That was going to happen anyway. Also, I'm going to take a stab at his reluctance to fight you is down to that damned honour of his?"he said, Adam nodding in confirmation. "Yeah, who would've thunk it?"he asked rhetorically, before he grabbed his jacket. "I'm heading down to breakfast. Don't tell anyone about this conversation, understand?"he said, before leaving the room without receiving an answer.

* * *

After walking for a couple of minutes, Adam saw that the cafeteria was already full of students, and that Libby, RWBY, JNPR & CFVY was already present. After getting his food and taking his seat, Adam said his greetings and voiced his opinion in a debate between Teams RWBY and JNPR. After a couple of minutes, he saw Team ARKS and Rachel enter and walk over to the table. "What's the subject today?"Ryan asked, before Blake immediately spoke up. "SAIs, as per usual. This time, it's about whether or not an SAI could grow a limb back. What's your opinion on it, Ryan?"she asked, before she tossed a grape to Yang, who caught it in her mouth "I guess it depends on the size of the limb."Ryan replied, before a chuckle from Adam caught his attention. "No, Ryan, that's not how it works. If an SAI has an entire limb amputated, it's gone. Mind you, that's just for what I know about incomplete SAIs, not about Completes. For all we know, you probably can't kill a Complete Aura Individual by conventional means, short of decapitation." Adam said, causing a murmur of surprise to ripple through his friends. "So, if you defeat Jamie and take his Aura, not only will you become stronger, but you also may become immune to damage?"Rachel asked, Adam simply shrugging. "Possibly."Adam replied nonchalantly.

* * *

"So, since it's the weekend, what you lot planning to do?"Adam asked, in an attempt to change the topic. "Not a clue. Probably going down to Vale. You?"Pyrrha said, causing Adam to look at his team, thinking hard. "Got it! How about we have a Partners Day?"he asked, his friend's looking at him in confusion. "Alright, let me simplify it. The teams split off into the partner pairs: Me and Kayleigh, Ruby and Weiss, etcetera. We take the day to ourselves and our partners, get to know each other better."he explained, causing a wave of agreement to hit his group. As the group turned to discuss their plans with their partners, Adam felt his shoulder being tapped. Looking round, he saw Rachel was the one who wanted his attention. "I don't actually have a partner, Adam. What do I do?"she asked, Adam thinking a bit, before his eyes fell on Libby, who was holding her hand in her palm, looking out the window. "Give me a second, I've got an idea."he said, turning back to Rachel, before he got up and walked to Libby. "Left by yourself, little sis?"he asked, Libby simply nodding. "Not any more."he said, gesturing back to Rachel. Thinking for a second, her face burst into a grin and she nodded. "It's alright?"she questioned, Adam simply nodding. "You have the start of your own team, Libby. I'll talk to Ozpin, see if I can get you two a new dorm room."he explained, before Libby got up and went over to Rachel. After a few seconds, Libby held out her hand, with it being shaken by Rachel a second later. As Adam returned to his seat, Rachel whispered, "Thank you." Soon after this, most of the partner pairs departing, before Adam motioned for Kayleigh, Libby and Rachel to follow him. "Kayleigh and I will come up to Ozpin's office with you two, before we head out for our day. If that's okay with you, babe?"he asked, looking to Kayleigh, who nodded. "If it helps Libby, I'll do what I can."she said, as the elevator doors opened. After stepping out, Ozpin turned to greet them. "Ah, what can I do for you four today?"he asked, placing a file in his desk drawer. "Sorry for dropping in on you, sir, but Rachel and Libby here have something to ask you."Adam said, pushing Libby forward.

Stepping forward, Libby said to Ozpin, "Well, I believe that I have found a beginning of a team for me, sir. We would ask to be given a new dorm room, so the team's together." After a moment of silence, Ozpin nodded. "Granted. You'll have by your dorm. But, you'll need at least one more member to at least be registered."he said, Libby's face falling, before Rachel stepped forward. "Actually, I have the perfect candidate. An old friend of mine, who's also a transfer student from Atlas. Does the name Penny Polendina sound familiar?"she asked, Ozpin nodding in response. "Very well, I'll have the paperwork prepared. I already know the answer to this, Adam, but I'm guessing you're in support of this?"he asked the boy in black, who simply nodded. "Very well. I'll have this sorted by tonight. Now, don't you four have a Partner's Day to get to?"he asked, all for of the student's faces gaining a shocked expression. "Oh, please. I never miss anything that goes on in this school. Now, run along."he laughed, nodding towards the elevator. Quickly, all four left the office.

* * *

After exiting the elevator, Libby was nearly jumping for joy. "Right, I'm guessing that we should get our stuff packed, eh, partner?"she asked Rachel, who nodded. "Alright, then. Lead the way...partner." With that, the two left Adam and Kayleigh alone. "So, what do you want to do, babe? Walk around Vale? A date? You name it, your wish is my command." Noticing that Kayleigh's eyes lit up at the word "date", he smiled. "The date sounds good. Shall we?"she asked, offering her hand. Taking it, Adam led her out of Beacon. Soon, they were on the airship headed for the city. "Any specific place you want?"Adam asked, Kayleigh nodding. "You'll see when we get there."she said, causing Adam to nod. "Alright then. I have to admit, I wouldn't have thought this would happen for me when I arrived at Beacon."he explained, causing Kayleigh to look at him in confusion. "What do you mean?"she asked, before Adam explained further. "I thought that the danger I brought with me would make trying to have a normal life impossible. So I didn't even try to enter a relationship with anyone, but that plan got wung out the window."he said, before Kayleigh put her hand on his. "No matter what, Adam, if Jamie wants to get to you, he'll have to get through the rest of us."she whispered, before Adam smiled, as he looked at the ground. "I just wish things could turn out differently. You know what?"he said, looking at Kayleigh. "What is it?"she asked, before Adam spoke again. "My mum had a number of sayings she liked to spout to us when we were growing up. One of them was "You never turn your back on family, even when they do." And that had never held more true than now."he said, before Kayleigh nodded in understanding. "So you think that you could make Jamie choose differently?"she asked, receiving a sigh from Adam. "No, I _hope_ I could make him change, but it's impossible. I have to kill him, but I'm not going to enjoy it."he explained, receiving a nod from Kayleigh. "Alright, well, I'll help you however I can, Adam. But for now, I believe we have a date to get to."she said, taking Adam's hand and leading him through Vale.

Eventually, the two of them stopped outside of a restaurant on the edge of Vale's housing district. "M'lady."Adam said sarcastically, holding the door open for her. "My, such a gentleman."she replied, with mirth in her eyes, before she entered. After getting a table and placing their orders, they received their food quickly and decided to regale each other with stories of their pasts, not a lot of which were particularly happy. During the date, both of the Huntsmen in training learned a lot about of each other, such as Kayleigh being the last remaining member of her family, due to a tragedy she refused to provide further information on, and Adam used to have the best possible relationship with his family before the whole Split Aura incident tore his family apart. Despite this, they had a very delightful dinner, then just resolved to walk around Vale and look in the shops, before returning to Beacon.

* * *

Meanwhile, as the BlackFire half of their team was enjoying Vale, Ryan and Shannon, also known as the Lemonade half of ARKS, had decided to remain at Beacon and train in the Virtual Combat simulator. Currently, Shannon had been thrown into the air by Ryan, and had sniped at a Ursa, drawing it's attention, before Ryan used Stormblade to decapitate it. Seeing that a few more Ursai were approaching them, Ryan pulled Shannon down behind a rock. "Cover your ears, it's going to get loud."he ordered, Shannon looking confused, but doing as ordered, putting her fingers in her ears. Smirking, Ryan straightened up, before opening his mouth, and, to Shannon's amazement...roaring at the enemies. But this roar was more like a shockwave that sent the Grimm flying. As the last Grimm hit a tree and disintegrated into pixels, Ryan slumped down in exhaustion, before turning to Shannon, who was still looking at him in shock. As she calmed down, she asked, "I'm guessing that was your Semblance?", receiving a nod from Ryan. "Lion roar. Takes a lot out of me, though, so that's why you've not seen it before. Sorry."he explained, before he spotted Shannon had discarded her rifle to plug her ears. Picking it up, he remembered something that had been nagging at him since the initiation.

Passing Reaper back to her, he spoke up. "Yeah, I've been meaning to ask. Exactly how did you come to own a Rechargeable Electromagnetic Pulse Rifle?"he asked, Shannon's face paling. "It was a gift from my father. He bought it from the Schnee Company."she quickly explained, with Ryan raising an eyebrow in response. "Funny, that, as I can name every item that the Schnees have made, but an R.E.P.R. isn't one of them. So spill, where did you get Reaper?"he explained, before Shannon sighed, and pressed a button on the side of her rifle, causing it to split and transform into a pair of swords, which she then held in her hands. "I made it, against my family's wishes. They thought it was impossible for me to become a Huntress. I intend to prove them wrong."she said, before she transformed Reaper back to it's rifle form. "And its not an Electromagnetic Pulse it fires, it's Electrified Plasma."she continued, Ryan nodding in understanding. "You don't even have to say the next thing. My lips are sealed. No one will know, unless you tell them."he said, causing Shannon to smile. "Right, want to go another round, or should we get going?"he asked, receiving a shake of the head from Shannon. "Let's get some lunch, then we'll get some homework done. Sound good?"she replied, Ryan nodding, before they heard the door to the training room open. Looking round, they saw that Team CRDL had entered.

"Well look who it is, lads! The two weakest members of Team ARKS here!"Cardin laughed. "That's rich,coming from you, Cardin. Did you feel like a big man when you took a metal pole to my best friend's head?"Ryan spat, one hand on the handle of his sword. "He had it coming."Cardin replied, stepping towards Ryan, but he was quickly sent flying by a punch from Ryan. "You're going to regret doing that."Ryan said, getting into a fight stance, while drawing Stormblade, but he was surprised to see Shannon get into a fight stance as well. "I got your back, partner."she said, before Cardin got back to his feet. Looking to his team, who hadn't moved yet, he yelled, "Well, what are you waiting for? Get them!" Surrounding Ryan and Shannon, the four of them closed in, though fear was evident on their faces...

 **Not even 5 minutes later...**

"Be thankful you're still breathing, Cardin. Let me make this fairly clear. You mess with the Robertsons, or any other members of our group, you mess with me. And you've now seen the result that comes with that. Now, I believe we've got a lunch to get, Shannon?"Ryan asked, looking away from the beaten body of Cardin to his partner, who nodded. "Alright, let's go!"He said, holding the door open for her.

* * *

Meanwhile, as the members of Team ARKS were enjoying the bounties of free time, Libby and Rachel were hurriedly packing their belongings, in preparation for their moving to a new room. Right now, after packing her stuff, Libby was helping Rachel pack her stuff up, and Rachel was preparing to ask her an important question. "Libby..."she started, drawing the younger Robertson's attention, "...Are you sure you want to be on a team with me? I mean, look at my history. I used to be an accomplice to your brother. Which means you should be hating me. What exactly made you trust me?"she asked, Libby smiling, before she answered. "If my brother trusts you, then I do. He usually is an excellent judge of character. That's why you got my trust. Now, may I ask you something?"she asked, Rachel nodding. "This Penny character who'll be on our team. She also a former Talon?"she posed to Rachel, which was responded to with a shake of her head. "No, she doesn't even though I used to be one. And I would appreciate it if you neglected to mention it. I'll tell her when the time's right."the cat Faunus said, before the two of them heard a knock at the door, and after Rachel opened it, they found that Ozpin was on the other side of it. "Hello, girls. I've just had the request for your new dorm granted. It's down the hall, and the last on the left-hand side. Your scrolls have already been registered, and you'll find Miss Polendina is already there."he said, before taking his leave. With that, both girls dragged their belongings down to their new room, and Penny Polendina was indeed there. After they had set their bags down, Penny literally ran at Rachel, and nearly tackled her to the ground in a hug, but Rachel managed to prevent herself from falling. After greeting Rachel, Penny wrapped Libby up in a hug as well. "I am honoured to be a part of your team! I hope I can be a good teammate!"the ginger haired girl said, before Libby put her hand on Penny's shoulder. "I can tell we're going to be great friends Penny."

* * *

Eventually, the various groups reconvened at Beacon, but neglected to share any details of their days, though Adam did sense that Coco and Fox were a lot closer than before. Simply dismissing it as " _They'll tell us when they're ready_ ", he waited for the group to disperse, and as Team ARKS entered their room, he saw that Ryan's knuckles were fairly bloody, drawing his attention. "Let's just say, Cardin learned what happens when you fuck with my friends."Ryan said mysteriously, causing Adam to grin, before he lay down on his bed. Looking up, he saw that Kayleigh was looking at him. "C'mon then."he said, lifting his cover for her to crawl in beside him. As he fell asleep, he saw that the moon was illuminating the grounds, and he was certain that he saw a shadowy figure for a second, but he blinked and the figure was gone.

 _"Son of a bitch!"_ Adam thought to himself, before he finally dozed off.

* * *

 **A/N: And this is directed to the person who I've based Ryan off, are you happy? I hope so! See you lot next chapter. Madman out!**


	18. Broken

**A/N: I'm simply going say: Enjoy!**

* * *

 **Chapter 18- Broken**

After their Partner's Day, Adam's group had grown closer to their respective partners, especially Coco and Fox, who had revealed to the rest of the group that they had been dating for a while. This had caused a raucous call to echo around their table, which had to be brought to a halt by Goodwitch. After that, the group had to deal with the new presence of Penny Polendina, the third member of Libby's new team, and, if Adam was to be honest, she was an absolute ditz, but she was still able to make fast friends with his sister, and surprisingly, Ruby. The threat of the Talons still remained, however, so Adam and his friends still had to keep themselves alert, as their enemy could strike at anytime.

* * *

One day, when they had some time off, ARKS was training in the gym. Adam and Kayleigh were sparring with their weapons, Ryan was on a punching bag, and Shannon was working a treadmill. After letting her attention slip for a second, Kayleigh found herself on the floor. "Dammit!"she growled, as she pulled herself up into a sitting position. "Whoa, babe, what's wrong?"Adam asked sitting down beside her, as Ryan and Shannon walked up. "I just...I feel as if I'm the weakest link in this team. For Dust's sake, I can't even fight without wearing these, or I run the risk of hospitalizing myself."she spat, holding her wrist up to show Flamebringer. After putting her arm back down, she said quietly, "I'm not going to be a lot of use when this invasion happens. I can't even punch, for crying out loud.", tears running down her cheeks. Quickly, Adam looked at the two other members of ARKS, before reaching out for Kayleigh's arm, and unclipping Flamebringer. "You're right, I'm sorry. We need to go back to basics."Adam said, standing up, and holding a hand out to Kayleigh. Taking it, she was pulled to her feet. "What are you...?"she started, but Adam answered her before she finished, "We're going to teach you how to fight. Without your weapon. Agreed?"he asked, Kayleigh nodding, before he turned to the other two. "Let's do it!"Ryan said, climbing into the ring, Shannon close behind him.

"Alright, so, you say you can't punch. I want to see if that statement holds water."Adam said, before he stepped towards Kayleigh. "Show me your stance."he ordered, causing his girlfriend to do so. Stepping forward, he pushed her foot back a bit with his, and turned her body slightly to the left. "You're right handed. Therefore, I want you to make it look like you're a lefty instead. That way, we can one-up those who underestimate you. Alright?"he explained, receiving a firm nod from Kayleigh. "Good, now on to the fun part..."

* * *

After teaching Kayleigh the basics, and going through a number of training drills, Adam, Ryan and Shannon felt that they had taught her all that was possible, and called an end to the training. "Not bad, babe!"Adam said, as Kayleigh jumped down off the ring. "Thanks, Adam, and thank you all for doing this."she said, looking at the other two teammates. "No worries. You're family, after all."Ryan said, causing Kayleigh to smile. "Yeah, that's true."Shannon said, as she hugged Kayleigh. After releasing Shannon, Kayleigh turned to Adam. "Think I stand a chance?"she asked, Adam nodding. "I think the Talons should be worried about coming up against us."he said, causing his three team members to chuckle. "Alright, let's get some lunch."he said, leading his team to the cafeteria.

As they got close, they were engaged in a conversation about the power of healing their Aura gave them, and whether it could regrow a limb, and so they didn't hear the commotion going on inside the cafeteria. "No, Ryan, I'm telling you, that's not how it works! You physically can't..."Adam said, as he entered the room, but he was cut off by a pie being flung into his face, and a crowd ran out the room. As he wiped the pie off his face, he saw that Teams RWBY, JNPR, CFVY & LPR (Libby, Penny, Rachel) were previously engaged in what seemed to be a giant food fight between their teams, and Team JNPR was occupying a large fort of wooden tables in the middle of the room. Currently, all four teams had stopped in shock of what had just happened. "Alright, who threw that?"Adam asked, almost every hand pointing to Nora. Turning back to his team, Adam asked, "How do I look?", to which Kayleigh replied, "Happy. Surprisingly." Turning back to the others, Adam spied a number of melons at his feet. "Alright then..."he said, flicking one up with his foot, before kicking it with the opposite foot, sending it towards Nora, "...Game On!"He finished, as Nora dodged the melon.

 **10 minutes later...**

The battle had been hard fought but in the end, it came down to a few people: Adam, Ruby and JNPR. Looking towards the red hooded girl, Adam called a truce, before both he and Ruby activated their semblances, and made a gigantic whirlwind of food launch itself towards JNPR, pinning them all to the wall. As the speedsters slowed down, Ruby went to congratulate Adam, but Adam had snuck up behind her and took her down with a baguette to the head. "Sorry, Ruby, there can only be one."he said, discarding his weapon, before the front doors to the cafeteria crashed open, and Professor Goodwitch stormed on. Using her power of telekinesis, she soon had the room back in it's former pristine state. "Children, please..."she said, pushing her glasses up a bit, "...do not play with your food." As the students went to clean themselves up, a part of the ceiling broke, and Yang plummeted to the ground, having been sent flying earlier by Nora. Goodwitch groaned in anger after this, but a hand on her shoulder stopped her. "Let it go."Ozpin's voice said, before she looked back at the students, who had started laughing. "They're supposed to be the protectors of the world."she sighed, before Ozpin said, "And they will be. But for now, they are still just children. So why not let them play the part? After all, it isn't a role they'll have forever." With that, he stepped up to talk to the children.

"What can we do for you, Professor?"Weiss asked, drawing the group's attention. "After you all get cleaned up, can you please report to my office?"Ozpin said, causing Adam's group to nod, before they departed. Before Ozpin left, Adam noticed a dark look in his eye, causing him to become curious. _"What happened, I wonder?"_ he thought to himself, before he was brought out of his thoughts by Ryan nudging him. Shaking his head to clear it off thoughts, he followed his team to the dorm.

* * *

After they had all cleaned themselves up, the group headed to Ozpin's office, and entered to see the Headmaster and Professor Goodwitch staring out the window with solemn looks on their faces. As the doors of the elevators opened, Ozpin turned to see them, the dark look still present from earlier in his eyes. "Glad you all could make it."Ozpin said, before Adam stepped forward. "What's going on Ozpin?"he asked, the Headmaster nodding in understanding. "Straight to the chase. Very well. I won't dance around it... we've managed, with Ms Kirkwood's help, to pinpoint a base belonging to the Slicing Talons. I want you and your group to take it out."Ozpin said, before Adam looked at Rachel, who said, "It's true Adam. I doubt there's actually anything there. If Jamie's smart, he'll have had it cleared out by now.", before he looked to the rest of his crew. "Suit up. We leave tonight."he ordered, the crew quickly disappearing showing their response. Turning back to Ozpin, he asked, "Is a professional Huntsman joining us, or we on our own?", a shake of the head from his Headmaster confirming his fear. "You handle this your way, Adam. Just try to keep it as low key as possible."the Headmaster said, Adam nodding before he left the room himself.

 **A few hours later...**

"So this is a hideout for the Talons, Rachel?"Ryan asked the cat-eared girl, who nodded, before Adam turned his attention to their target: a large warehouse on the outskirts of Vale. "Jamie's either cleared out his men from all the buildings, or he's got them on high alert. Either way, we can't take chances. Shannon..."Adam said, turning to his teammate, "...you've got the shadows. Survey the area. Quietly."he ordered, before the girl stepped backwards into the shadows and disappeared. "Ren, Blake, take the other side."he said, pointing to the opposite direction. Nodding, the two ninjas leapt off the building and disappeared. "The rest of you, scatter."he ordered, waving his arm, his group quickly disappearing. Pulling up his hood and drawing Deathcaliber, Adam leapt off the building, landing silently on the ground. "Showtime."he said, before he used his semblance to shift from place to place, until he reached the warehouse entrance, and he saw a pair of guards at the front door. "You want the guy on the right, or the left, Adam?"a voice next to him asked, which was revealed to be Ryan. "Right. On three."he said, holding up a hand and counting down. When the final finger went down, the pair slipped out their hiding spot, and snuck towards the guards. Before the guards could notice them, Adam and Ryan snuck up behind them, and in one quick movement, had grabbed them both in a choke hold, before breaking their necks. Lowering their bodies to the ground, the pair looked up to see their group approaching. "Perimeter's clear."Shannon said, causing Adam to nod. "Brilliant. Now, let's get in there."he said, before he turned to the door. Putting a hand on the door, he pushed hard, slowly making the door open. When there was enough space, he entered the warehouse, followed by his group.

When the group entered the warehouse, they saw that there was a large computer in the middle of the room, but there was no one else present. "Rachel?"Adam asked, the Faunus nodding, before she went over to the computer. After a couple of seconds, the screen lit up, and a number of images came up on screen. Looking briefly at all the images, Adam saw that they were all of him and his group. Seeing a folder on the computer marked PRIORITY TARGETS, he opened it up, only to find numerous documents which were all profiles on the members of Adam's group. "Son of a bitch!"Adam said, before the computer beeped. "Password accepted. This terminal will implode in 3..."

"Adam, get back!"Ryan shouted, pulling his friend back from the computer.

"2..."

"Get down, all of you!"Adam yelled, before his friends ducked behind cover.

"1..."

As the last number ticked down, the room was engulfed in a massive explosion, sending the gathered students flying out the door. As Adam was slammed into the wall, he saw a shadow appear on a railing above them. "Are you ever not going to fall for that, Robertson?"the shadow asked, before Adam pulled himself up. "Go to hell, Jamie."he spat, before his vision cleared, and it was revealed to be Cameron, not Jamie. "Everyone alright?"Adam called out, his group all shouting back "We're fine." "Good, they're all ok. I'd hate for them to miss this."Cameron laughed, before he vaulted over the railing, landing on the ground below.

"Your brother knew the traitor Rachel would bring you here, so he prepared a little welcoming gift. Now I'm surprised you fell for it, seeing as how bright you usually are, Adam. But then I realized, it's because you have a weak spot."Cameron said, before Adam smirked. "We all got a weak spot, Goldie."he said, before Cameron laughed and looked around. "You know, my older sister always used to say, 'Every man has to have a code.' Mine? Precision. A team, like the Talons or your group, is nothing but parts you switch out until the job is done. It's efficient. It works. But you and your friends? You're all loyal to a fault. Your code is about family. And, while it's great and all for the holidays, it makes you predictable. And in our line of work, predictable means vulnerable. And that means we can reach out and break you whenever we want." This caused Adam to smirk. "Least when I go, I'll know what it's for."he said, before Cameron chuckled. "Well, at least you have a code. Most men don't. So, I'm here to give you a chance, Adam. Leave your crew, give yourself over to the Talons. That's the only way you'll keep your family safe."Cameron said, before Adam smirked. "Your sister never told you never to threaten a man's family? Cause it's a pretty stupid thing to do. But I'll make it simple for you, Cameron. I'll walk away, when Jamie walks away." This caused Cameron to laugh. "Well, it appears this inspiring little tale of yours has come to an end."he said, raising his hand. Looking down, Adam saw multiple red dots on his chest. "If that's the way it has to go."he said, closing his eyes, before Cameron let his hand fall. Immediately, the sound of multiple guns firing went off, but when Adam looked, he saw that a body was in front of him. Finally, a point of a harpoon penetrated through the body's chest, and the body fell.

* * *

When the body hit the light, Adam was shocked to see that it was Fox who took the shots for him. Laughing, Cameron made his escape by leaping back up to the balcony. "See you around, Robertson."he laughed, before he disappeared. Tempted to follow, but more concerned with his friend, Adam ran over to Fox, just as Coco ran up as well. "Fox, what the hell were you thinking?"Adam asked, Fox simply coughing out, "You can't die yet, Adam. I can, if it means you get a chance at taking out the son of a bitch." Looking to Coco, who nodded, Adam picked up Fox, then turned and activated his semblance, flashing past his group, and ran all the way to the medical centre at Beacon. Quickly, he explained the situation to the medical staff, and they hurried Fox off for surgery. Pulling out his scroll, Adam sent a message to his friends, telling them where he was. With that, he sat down to wait...

 **A few minutes later...**

"Adam, we're here. How is he?"Ryan asked, Adam simply shaking his head. "No idea."he said, before a nurse walked up. "I take it you're all here for Fox Alastair?"she asked, receiving nods from the rest of the group. "Very well. I'm sorry to say, Mr Fox's wounds were too severe. We managed to keep his Aura up a bit longer, but it kept breaking. There's not long left in him. He's in there, if you want to say goodbye."she said, pointing to a door nearby. Slowly, Adam led the group in, and they found Fox on a table, looking extremely pale. "Dammit, Fox, it should be me on this table, not you." Adam said, before Fox laughed. "You know, Adam, as bright as you usually are, you're still thick. This was always going to happen to one of us. Eventually, one of the group would have sacrificed themselves for you. Guess I'm the lucky one."Fox said, before he looked to Coco, who was silently crying. "Let's give them a minute guys."Adam said, and his group left, but Adam was held back by a arm from Fox. "Stay, please. I got something I want to ask you."he said, getting a nod from Adam, who walked over to a chair and sat down, before Coco walked up to Fox. "You can't die, babe. You've still got to take me on that date, after all."she said, before Fox smiled. "I will."he said, before he coughed. "You know, I never got to say this, but... I love you, Coco. I always have and I always will."he said, before Coco smiled. "I love you too, Fox."she said, before she gave him a light kiss. "Adam, now let's get to what I want to ask you."Fox said, as Coco walked out.

"What's up, Fox?"Adam asked, before Fox nodded to Deathcaliber. "I want you to end my suffering, Adam."Fox said, before Adam clenched his fist. "I can't do that, Fox. I won't kill you."he said, quietly, before Fox spoke again. "Don't think of it as killing me. Think of it as setting me free." Hesitating for a moment, before nodding, Adam pulled out Deathcaliber and split it into it's dagger form. "One last thing, Adam. Watch over Coco for me, will you?"Fox asked, Adam simply stating, "You got my word, Fox. Tell you what, when we meet again, drinks are on me." Laughing, Fox then lay back. "Sure thing. Now, get it over with." Placing one hand on his friend's shoulder, Adam said, "I'm sorry, Fox.", before he slowly pushed the knife into his friends heart, not pulling it out until he felt his body go limp. "Rest in peace, Fox."he said, withdrawing the blade. Cleaning the blade on his jacket, he walked out of the room and closed the door, before his group walked up.

"Well?"Velvet asked, Adam simply saying, "He's dead. He asked me to...kill him.", to the shock of the whole group. "And you did."Coco said, before she stormed off. Looking at the remaining members of CFVY, Adam nodded after her. "Go."he said, before Yatsu and Velvet took off. Looking at his other friends, Adam said, "Just go home, you lot. Do what you want to cope. Me, I'm heading to Ozpin.", before he sped off. "What now?"Shannon asked, Ryan looking around. "I don't know, Shannon. I really don't know."

* * *

 **Ozpin's office...**

Ozpin and Goodwitch were in the middle of a discussion, before the elevator doors opened, and Adam stormed out. "What happened to low-key, Adam?"Ozpin asked, before Adam slammed his hands on the desk. "Low key went out the window, when Fox Alastair got a harpoon through his fucking chest."he said, to the shock of the two teachers. "Yeah, he's dead. Because he took a shot that was meant for me. And now, this changes things."Adam spat, before he went to walk away. "How so, Robertson?"Goodwitch asked, before Adam turned back to them. "Because, now, Professor Goodwitch, there's no power on this planet that can stop me!"He shouted, before he walked back into the elevator. As the doors shut, his scroll went off. "Don't say we didn't warn you, little brother!"the voice of Jamie said, before he hung up. Throwing the scroll into a wall, Adam went up to the roof, where he stood and looked out over Vale. He could still see the smoke from the explosion earlier. Looking down at the grounds, where a few students were walking around, he said to himself...

"You think this is over, Jamie, but the game's just begun."

* * *

 **A/N: Hope you enjoyed this chapter! If didn't, please put down the torches and pitchforks! See you next time. Madman out!**


	19. Mourning

**A/N: Welcome back to RoTA! I'm surprised I've actually managed to finish this after chapter 18, as this only is 2 full days worth of work. Enjoy!**

* * *

 **Chapter 19- Mourning**

The funeral for Fox took place about three days after his death. The whole of Adam's crew had attended, as well as Fox's parents. Adam had chose to stay away, seeing as it was him Fox had died to save. He did overlook the funeral from the roof of Beacon. His friend's grave had been placed on a cliff overlooking the Emerald Forest, seeing as Coco said it was a popular date spot for them. After the service was over, and the group had departed, Adam had walked down to see the grave. When he arrived, he saw that Fox's parents were still standing there.

"Adam Robertson, I assume?" Fox's father asked, when he saw the boy walk up. "Yeah."Adam said solemnly, before Mr Alastair walked up to him. "Ozpin has informed us of the friendship you had with my son. He also said you are the best one to talk to about what happened that night. So, tell me exactly, how did my son die?"Mr Alastair said sternly, before Adam sighed and recalled the entirety of that night's events. After he had finished, Fox's parents were shocked. "So, your brother is the one responsible for our son's death?"Mrs Alastair asked, Adam nodding. "I know this won't mean much coming from me, but when I next see my brother, one way or another, he's dead. I'll rip his head off myself."Adam said, to the shock of the two adults. "Revenge isn't the path you want to walk, Adam. You'll never be satisfied, not until it's too late."Mr Alastair said, before Adam scoffed and gestured to Fox's grave. "It's already too late."he said, before he turned and walked back into Beacon.

* * *

When Adam entered the entrance hall of Beacon, he saw his group off in a corner, but he chose to walk past them, and headed to the gym. Not even caring to change, he immediately headed for a punching bag, and went to work. Twenty minutes in, and there was a pile of broken sandbags in the corner of the room, as he hung another one up. As he started to punch this new bag, he was interrupted by a voice from behind him. "Penny for your thoughts?"the voice asked, before Adam turned too quickly, and in his rage swung blindly, but luckily, he saw his quarry dodge backwards. When they straightened back up, he saw that it was Kayleigh who had startled him.

"You should be more careful."Adam spat, before his girlfriend scoffed. "And you think the best way to move on from Fox's death is to punch things. Save that for Jamie."she said, before Adam turned to her again. "And how would you suggest I go about moving on?"he asked, before Kayleigh took his hand. "Follow me."she said, leading him out the room.

* * *

 **Meanwhile, with the rest of Adam's crew...**

"What do you think Adam's going through?"Velvet asked, before Coco scoffed. "Who cares. He wants to act like a sullen prick, let him. Who are we to judge?"she said, before she stomped off. "Coming from her, that's like the pot calling the kettle black."Ryan said, before Velvet turned to him, a glare in her eye. "Take it easy on her. She lost the love of her life, after all."she said, before Ryan held his hands up in defence. "Believe me, I know. But she doesn't have to act like such a cold hearted bitch when it comes to Adam. He had nothing to do with what happened to Fox."he said, causing Velvet to ease up a bit. "Good point."she said, before the chime of a scroll went off. "That's ours."Ryan and Shannon said, before they pulled their scrolls out and read the message they had just been sent...

 _From: Kayleigh Murphy_

 _To: Ryan Clougherty, Shannon Mccafferty_

 _Message: Don't come back to the room until I tell you it's safe. Please. Adam's beating himself up for what happened to Fox, and I need to find some way of helping him cope. So, until that happens, please don't come back to the dorm._

Looking to each other, Ryan and Shannon nodded, before they put their scrolls back into their pockets. "What was that all about?"Ruby asked, before Shannon shut her down. "Nothing. Just Kayleigh letting us know she found Adam."she said quickly, although her mind was working in overdrive.

* * *

"You're a shitty liar, Shannon."Yang said, before Ryan spoke up. "Alright, I think this is getting to be a dangerous conversation again. Let's just try and stay civil. Please. We shouldn't be tearing each other to pieces. Save that for the Grimm. And the Talons."he explained, before Blake scoffed. "Are you seriously marching to war against them with Adam, Ryan? We've just lost Fox, and now you want to sign your death warrant, too?"she asked, Ryan nodding immediately. "Fuck yes I am! I know I may die, but I'm not going to abandon Adam to the Talons. He's my brother. Maybe not by blood, but by loyalty. And where I was raised, you never turn your back on family, even when they do."Ryan said, before he went to leave. "You lot can back out, but I'm in this with Adam to the end."he said quietly, before he left the hall. The remaining members of the group looked at each other, before Libby spoke.

"I'll be damned before I leave Adam to die."she said, before she hurried after Ryan. "Same here."Shannon said, following her, before Rachel spoke up. "Wait up! Adam gave me a second chance. I'm not going to let him go against this big an enemy alone. What friend would I be, if I turned my back on him now?"she said, reaching the other two. As they left, the remainder of the group looked to each other. "What about us? Do we join them, or do we back out?"Ruby asked, all the other people present shrugging. "I don't know, little sis. I honestly don't know..."Yang said, pulling Blake closer to her.

* * *

 **Later on...**

"You didn't have to do that, Kayleigh, especially if it was your first time."Adam said, pulling his shirt back on. "Relax, Adam. I had to, if it stopped your self-loathing, even for a little bit. I'm sorry if it feels like I was desperate, but you were, for lack of a better word, being a massive jackass, and while that's all well and good, that's not the Adam I fell in love with."Kayleigh said, as she pulled her shirt on. After she said this, Adam stepped up to her, and cupped her head in his hands. "You're the best thing that ever happened to me, and I love you."he said, before he kissed her. "I love you too."she said, when he pulled back, before she picked up her scroll. "I'll message the other two, tell them it's safe to come back up."she said, before Adam nodded. "Sounds good. Ryan's not gonna let me live this down."he said, Kayleigh nodding in agreement. After sending the message, Kayleigh put her phone pack down on the dresser. "What now?"she asked, as Adam pulled his jacket on. "I need to go see Coco. Straighten out a couple things."he said, before he kissed Kayleigh one last time. "I'll be back in a bit."he said, before he left the dorm.

After he left his dorm, Adam went straight to the room of Team CFVY, and he was quickly answered by Coco when he knocked. "What do you want?"she spat, before Adam replied, "I want to clear the air between us, Coco. Now, do you want to walk, or are you gonna invite me in?"he asked, Coco hesitating for a moment, before she stepped out and shut the door. "Let's go."she said, before Adam lead her down the hallway.

* * *

 **Meanwhile, in Team ARKS dorm...**

"So, to calm Adam down, or cheer him up, whatever, you...?"Shannon questioned her friend, who nodded in confirmation. "Yes, I did. Nothing else was working. Just ask the pile of sandbags that were on the floor when I found him in the gym. He thought the best way to move on was to punch things. Needless to say, it was just making it worse."she said, before she looked out the window, and saw Adam and Coco walking across the grounds. "Be careful with him."Ryan's voice said, causing Kayleigh to snap her neck to look at him. "What makes you say that?"she asked, as Ryan sat down at the desk and turned his chair to look at her. "Adam hasn't been in a serious relationship with anyone, except you. Being chased across the surface of the planet by his homicidal brother for five years, only relying on one person, i.e. me, doesn't really give you a chance of falling in love. Now, he may seem like a jokester, but he's a really vulnerable individual. And, while I may spout this far too much, but I am sincere when I say, he's my brother. Now, if you decide this is just a passing phase, you'll break him. Probably for good. And that won't do anyone any good. So, I'll repeat, be careful with him."Ryan said, before Kayleigh nodded. "I love him. If I lose him, I won't be able to go on."she said, before Ryan smirked and stood up. "So, I guess I might as well start calling you 'sister'."he said, before he pulled Kayleigh into a hug. "Seems like it."she said, causing Shannon to smile.

"And here I thought you would tell her to dump him."Shannon said, before Ryan shook his head. "While it could end badly, I want Adam to be happy. He deserves happiness."he said, before a chuckle from the door drew his attention. "Oh, Ryan, that's so sweet!"Adam said jokingly, before he stepped in and shut the door. "How much did you hear?"Ryan asked, before Adam walked up and leaned an arm on his shoulder. "That last sentence."he said, before Ryan shrugged him off. "Thought you were going to talk to Coco?"Kayleigh said, before Adam nodded. "It took less time than I thought. She was just distraught. She just needed to shift the blame to someone. I just had to make her see it's my brother she should hate, not me. Took less effort than I thought it would."he said, before Kayleigh adopted a shocked look. "That easy?"she asked, receiving a shrug from her boyfriend.

"What about you, Adam? You still beating yourself up?"Shannon asked, causing Adam to shoot a look to Kayleigh, who blushed. "Nope. I'm done being miserable. Pissed off, sure, but I'm fine. Jamie just made things simple when he killed Fox."be said, before Ryan, Kayleigh and Shannon looked at him. "How come?"Ryan asked, before Adam smirked. "I was going to hold back slightly, maybe see if I can imprison him. Not any more. For killing Fox, regardless of whether or not he's my brother, he's going to die."he said, before Ryan smiled. "Till the last man falls?"he asked, holding his arm out. "Nah."Adam said, before he put an arm round Kayleigh's shoulders. "Fight or Die."he said, holding up his hand. Hesitating, Ryan clasped the hand and said, "Fight or Die.", before he released his friend's hand. "Bringing it back?"he asked, before Adam shrugged. "Never held more true than now."he said, before the team's scrolls pinged, and when they checked them, they saw that Ozpin wanted the entirety of their group to report to his office. "Let's go."Adam said, leading his team to the office.

* * *

When the group assembled inside Ozpin's office, they saw that Ozpin had gathered his teaching staff as well. When Adam cleared his throat, Ozpin turned to address him. "Thank you for coming."the Headmaster said, before he looked to Adam. "I assume you're still preparing for the attack, Adam?"he asked, before Adam nodded. "Damn straight. But I'm not using the old plan I had."the boy in black said, before Goodwitch's eyes narrowed. "And what exactly was that old plan?"she asked, before Adam cracked his shoulder. "I was thinking to hold back slightly, maybe see if I could capture him."he said. Immediately, the group looked at him in shock, or rage in the case of Coco, before he continued. "But, with the death of Fox, he's signed his death warrant. When I next see him, he's dead."he said, before Ozpin nodded. "Care to fill us in on your new master plan then, Adam?"he asked, before Adam nodded.

"We allow Jamie to gather his forces as normal. We don't make any reconnaissance into Vale, unless we're with our teams, and we don't engage the Talons. I've already buried one brother. I won't bury another. The more Jamie hits us with in his attack, the more we can take down. I want him to see everything he's built crumble to the ground. And then, Jamie, Cameron, Ironwood, all of them, they're going to feel pretty stupid when they find out..."Adam said, before he walked over to the window and stared out to Vale. Looking to his group, Ozpin saw that they had a look of confusion on their faces. "Find out what?"he asked, before Adam chuckled, before he turned back to the room, a serious look on his face...

"They're fucking with the wrong people."

* * *

 **A/N: I would just like to say, what happened between Adam and Kayleigh in this chapter, I cannot stress, hasn't happened to me in real life. Regardless, my girlfriend, who is my basis for Kayleigh, she's going to kill me when she reads this. Farewell cruel world! Madman out!**


	20. The Call to War

**A/N: And here we go! This chapter is what you've been waiting for, but there are a few secrets left to reveal. Enjoy!**

* * *

 **Chapter 20- The Call to War**

After Adam had declared his intent to annihilate Jamie and the Talons, his crew had stayed at Beacon, downright refusing to enter Vale, content to spend their time honing their skills. The teachers seemed to remain busy, planning the defences of Vale, whereas the Talons were strangely quiet. They had gone dark after the murder of Fox, and even with Rachel's help, the group couldn't track them down, so they had either moved to a different Kingdom, or they had gone underground. This continued for a few months, until the month before the siege was due to begin, when Ozpin had summoned the group to his office.

* * *

When Teams ARKS, RWBY, JNPR, CFVY & LPR had gathered their equipment, they headed up to the Headmaster's office, they saw that Ozpin, as well as his faculty, were gathered around Ozpin's desk. "Thank you for coming up, Adam."Ozpin said, before he withdrew his scroll from his jacket. "I imagine you want to get back to preparing, but there's something you need to see."he said, before he placed the scroll on his desk, causing a large number of profile pictures to appear as a hologram above the desk. "This briefing is mainly for my staff, but if there's anything I miss, please, don't hesitate to say anything."he said to Adam, who nodded.

"These are all the high profile targets in the Talon's army. First off..."Ozpin said, selecting the first image, which was revealed to be Jamie when it enlarged itself. "Jamie Robertson, founder of the Slicing Talons, and Adam's older brother. He holds the Dark Half of Adam's Aura, and is on a crusade to kill him. He's priority target 1. Only Adam can kill him, however."he explained, with his teachers nodding. "Anything I missed, Adam?"he asked the boy in black, who stepped up, and placed his scroll on the desk. Tapping the screen, a holographic folder popped up next to Jamie's picture. Swiping his hand, he accessed the folder, and selected a couple of files, one of which was a diagram of a sword. "His Semblance: Aura Detection. He can detect any individual with an active Aura from a mile away. Comes in handy when you're hunting your little brother across the surface of Remnant. It's also how he could seemingly predict any move I made. And his weapon, Nightsting. It's a sword that can function as a blaster that can shoot up to 4 balls of energy. It's almost as tough to break as Deathcaliber. Understandable, seeing as it's its brother blade. It was made from the same batch of metal."he said, causing his crew to look at him in shock, before Ozpin nodded and swiped to the next picture.

"Cameron Goldie, Jamie's second in command of the Talons. Goldie is the one who carried out the murder of Fox Alastair, and as such, is priority target 2. He is to be engaged by any who are able. Note that he was skilled enough to incapacitate at least 8 of Adam's group, so approach with caution."he explained, before he moved to the next picture. "James Ironwood. Former ally to Beacon, but in reality was a Talon all along. For his betrayal, he should be shot on sight. Remember, he is the General of the entire Atlesian army, so combat prowess is expected. Also, he's one to approach with caution. Priority target 3."he said, before he straightened slightly.

"Those three are the main targets to take out in this attack. These next few are still dangerous, but not as much as the three Talons. If possible, they should be captured, but elimination is agreeable. First, we have Adam Taurus."Ozpin said, flashing up a picture of a red haired man wearing a Grimm mask. Hearing a growl, Adam turned to see Blake clenching her fist. "Know him, Blake?"he asked, receiving a nod. "Alright, care to tell us about him?"he asked, before Blake stepped up. "He was the one who mentored me, taught me how to fight. He's the leader of the White Fang. His weapon is a sword and shotgun sheath called Wilt and Blush. His Semblance seems to be energy absorption. He's deadly, just by himself."she said, before she stepped back. "Thanks Blake. Next."Adam stated, turning back to Ozpin. Nodding, Ozpin brought up the next picture. "Cinder Fall. A powerful individual, who seems to be spearheading the operations of the infamous thief Roman Torchwick."he said, before a second picture popped up. "Damn. They'll need to be working with others."Adam said, before Ozpin nodded. "They were."he said, before he flicked a video up. Looking at it, Adam saw a trio of individuals sat at a table in what seemed to be a classroom at Beacon. "Neopolitan, Emerald Sustrai and Mercury Blake. They were in league with Cinder, but, like Miss Kirkwood here, they claim to be switching sides."Ozpin explained, before Adam nodded. "I'll question them after this, if that's alright?"the boy in black asked, receiving a nod from Ozpin. "Alright, anything else?"Adam asked, before he turned to leave. "Yes, actually. There's one person that will need to be kept alive during the attack."Ozpin said, causing Adam and his crew to look at him in confusion. "Let me explain."he said, flipping up another picture. "Craig Mccolgan. Like Jamie done with Cameron, Craig is a mole for Beacon that was supplanted into the Talons, and has become a high-ranking member. He has actually been made a leader of the organization. He must be kept alive."Ozpin emphasised, before Adam nodded. "Got it. Kill the rest, get Craig extracted."Adam said, before he looked to the group.

"Alright, Get some food, then back to training."he ordered, before his crew departed. "Right, I'll head to talk to the three prisoners."Adam said, before Ozpin nodded. "I'll lead you there."he said, before he landed down and withdrew a file from his desk. Walking up, he handed the file to Adam. "This is another team that want to join Beacon to fight the Talons. It's up to you whether or not they join the fight. They're called Team SSSN."Ozpin said, before Adam slid the file into his jacket. "Alright, let's go."Adam said, before Ozpin lead him out of the office.

* * *

After a few minutes, Ozpin and Adam were standing outside of the classroom. "Just one question before I go in there. Do you trust them?"Adam asked his Headmaster, who slowly nodded. "While the gaining your trust part may be difficult, I believe in second chances."he said, before Adam nodded. "Alright, I guess I'll see you around."Adam said, placing his hand in the doorknob. "Of course. See you soon, Adam."Ozpin said, before he strolled off. Sighing, Adam turned the doorknob, and entered the room.

When he shut the door, Adam saw that the three individuals had risen to their feet, before he held up a hand. "Please, stay seated."he said, dragging a chair over and lowering himself into it. "Alright, straight to it. I guess you already know who I am?"he asked, before the multicoloured girl, who he recalled was called Neopolitan, nodded. "You're Adam Robertson."she said. "The one who the leader of the Talons is after." Nodding, Adam leaned back in his chair, as Emerald and Mercury looked at him in shock. "Correct. Now, I'm not going to dance around it. You three are known accomplices of Cinder Fall, and just a month before my brother attacks, you claim to be switching sides. Now, sorry for this, but it seems too convenient. So, give me a reason why I should trust you three."he said, before Emerald spoke up. "Alright, we'll keep it brief. Cinder's becoming as bad as your brother, and frankly, she's scaring the shit out of us. Also, she's here for the same thing as Jamie."she said, causing Adam to look at her strangely. "Killing me?"he asked, before Mercury shook his head. "Well, yes, but what we mean is...she's here for the Light half of her Aura, as well." Leaning forward, Adam asked, "Who is it?", before the three looked at each other, before Neo spoke up.

"Kayleigh Murphy."

Sitting up, Adam's face darkened. "Come again?"he asked, before Mercury explained. "Years before Kayleigh was born, her mother had a child with another man. A daughter. Cinder, to be precise. She was born with a Dark Aura, and the Light half remained in her mother's womb until she gave birth to Cinder's half sister, Kayleigh. Their path has followed almost the exact same path as yours and Jamie's."the silver haired boy said, before Adam pushed himself to his feet. "If I have to drag you three in here again today, I'll rip your fucking heads off. Got it?"he asked, receiving three quick nods. "Good, now I'll see you at breakfast tomorrow morning."he said, before he turned to the door. "Oh, one last thing."he said, turning back. "Team NEM (Nemesis), welcome to Beacon!"he said, exiting the room. Next, he pulled his scroll out his pocket, and dialled Kayleigh's number.

"Hey sweetie, what's up?"his girlfriend's voice said when she picked up. "Hey babe."he said, before he sighed. "Can you and the other two meet me on the roof? There's something I need to talk to you about."he asked, before Kayleigh replied. "Yeah, sure. I'll see you in a bit. Love you."she said. "Love you too."Adam said, before he hung up. "Great, now we play the waiting game."he said, before he blurred up to the roof, and decided to read the file that Ozpin gave him.

* * *

A little while later, Adam heard the door to the roof open, and Kayleigh walked through it, Ryan and Shannon following behind her. "Glad you two came up."Adam said, pushing himself off the wall. "There's something I found out that you need to hear."he continued, before the R & S of his team nodded. "What is it?"Kayleigh asked, before Adam walked over to the edge of the roof, and looked out to Vale. "I just went to see those three that betrayed Cinder, and they told me that Cinder herself has her own agenda here as well."he said, before Kayleigh's face paled, unbeknownst to the rest of the team. "Which is?"Ryan asked, before Adam turned back to him. "She's here for her Light half Aura. Specifically, it's holder, who just so happens to be our resident firestarter..."he said, gesturing over to his girlfriend. "Kayleigh." Looking over to the girl, Ryan and Shannon had looks of absolute shock. "You're an...SAI?"Shannon asked, before Kayleigh nodded. "I'm sorry for not telling you. I was afraid of how you would react."she said, causing Adam to step up to her. "I don't know, nor do I care, any about Cinder. She might be your sister, but she's not going to win. Like I said before, she'll find out she's screwing with the wrong family."he said, before Kayleigh looked at him, and he saw that her eyes were watering. "He's right."Ryan said, before Shannon stepped up and wrapped Kayleigh in a hug. "We've got to stick together, after all. We're family, as Adam said."she said, before she fixed Adam with a penetrating look. "You'd better keep an eye on her, Adam. Anything happens to her, you'll be getting a lot worse than a broken nose from me."she said, before Adam backed up in fear. "Don't worry, I've got a plan."he said, before Shannon released Kayleigh.

"What now?"Ryan asked, before Adam withdrew the file on Team SSSN from his jacket. "Another team wants to help. I'm gonna go talk to them."he said, before his teammates nodded. "We're going with you."Ryan said. Smirking, Adam passed the file to him. "Sounds good. Have a read for yourself later."he said, as Ryan pocketed the file. "Now, let's go."he said, leading his team to the dorm that Team SSSN was residing in.

* * *

Raising a hand, Adam rapped hard on the door, and ARKS waited a couple of seconds, before the door was opened by a blonde-haired boy, who was wearing a shirt that was unbuttoned. The first thing that Adam's team noticed was the tail that lay on the floor behind him. "Sun Wukong?"Adam asked, before the boy nodded. "Adam Robertson."he said, before he extended a hand, which Sun shook. "May we?"Adam asked, gesturing to the dorm room. "Yeah sure."Sun said, stepping back and allowing them to enter. After closing the door, Sun sat down in a chair, before Adam leaned against a wall. "My team are out right now, so if you want, we can wait for them."Sun said, before Adam shook his head. "We've got to get some training in, so we'll make this quick. First, why do you want to help Beacon?"he asked, before Sun smirked. "We want to take down the White Fang, and seeing as they are helping the Talons, if we can take them down, we'll roll with you, Adam, if you'll have us, that is."the Faunus said, before Adam looked to his team, who nodded. "You do know there is a high probability that you can die, Sun? We've already had to bury one friend."Adam said, before the boy nodded. "What's life without a little danger? Besides, I've got no plans in the future."he said, before Adam smirked. "Alright, I'll expect you and your team to report to the cafeteria for breakfast tomorrow, so we can see what you're capable of in the gym afterwards. Sound good?"he asked, before Sun nodded. "Good. See you then."Adam declared, before he went to the door, and opened it. "Don't fuck around with us, Sun. These people are my family, and if you hurt them in any way, I will kill you."he said, as his team exited the room. "Understood."Sun said, before Adam nodded and left the room.

"What now, boss?"Ryan asked, before Adam looked to his watch. "To the gym."he said, leading the other three down to that room, and immediately, they got down to training with the other teams...

* * *

 **A few weeks later...**

The two new teams had quickly lived up to the claims they had made, and dedicated themselves to training for the upcoming battle with the Talons. While the students kept themselves busy with training, the teachers had started to evacuate civilians to a safe zone on the outskirts of Vale. While a large number of civilians refused, the majority of them chose to follow the Huntsmen's orders. Ozpin had also delivered a rousing speech, with backup from Adam, and a large number of Huntsmen had chose to fight alongside Adam in the war, including, to the surprise of his group, Team CRDL. "We're not doing this for you, Robertson, but because it's our job. As Huntsmen."Cardin had said, before Adam had nodded and extended a hand, which Cardin shook. The Huntsmen that had joined him had quickly been briefed, and had got to training immediately. This continued for weeks, until one day, Adam got a call from the Headmaster...

* * *

 **One day...**

In the middle of a training session, Adam's scroll pinged, and when he answered, Ozpin's voice said, "Bring your crew up here.", before hanging up. Catching his group's attention, Adam explained the situation, before he lead them to the office, where the Headmaster sat, his face solemn. "They're here."Ozpin said, before he placed his scroll on the desk, and a large surveillance feed popped up. One look, and the group's faces turned to shock. The army of the Talons was indistinguishable, as it appeared to be a large black mass moving along the ground. "This is it."Adam said, before he turned to his group. "Let's go."he said, before his group went to report the situation to the other Huntsmen. "Wait."Ozpin said, causing Adam to turn back to him. "For today only, Adam, we're yours to command."Ozpin said, extending a hand to Adam. Looking at the hand, Adam clasped it in his, before nodding. "Let's go."he said, leading them back to the gym, which was clearing out of Huntsmen, who were heading for the city, to cut off the Talons. As they met up with the rest of Adam's group halfway across the courtyard, a large ball of fire flew up from behind the wall around Vale, and flew straight for Beacon, which caught the attention of every Huntsmen in the city.

"PYRRHA! JAUNE!"Adam yelled, over the screams of the Huntsmen. Nodding, Pyrrha and her blonde partner unsheathed their shields, and kneeled down, raising them above their heads. Immediately, Adam ran up, jumped up onto the shields, and channelled his Aura into his legs, and when the two members of JNPR pushed up, Adam did the same, and with the combined strength, Adam was sent flying towards the ball of fire. Before he made contact with it, he pulled out Deathcaliber and delivered a powerful slice to the ball, which split into two halves, and both impacted into Beacon. Luckily, there were no casualties. "This is it!"Adam shouted, after landing on the ground and rolling to regain his stance. Raising his sword, he pointed it towards the gate of Vale, and yelled:

"TAKE THOSE FUCKERS DOWN!"

* * *

 **A/N: And so, it begins! Next few chapters, are for the war. Also, as you can see, not dead. Yay! See you lot next chapter. Madman out!**


	21. War

**A/N: I'll say what I need to at the end, as I know you've been waiting for this. Enjoy!**

* * *

 **Chapter 21- War**

Immediately after Adam gave the order, all the gathered Huntsmen charged towards the gate, leaving Adam's group and the teachers behind. "We'll divert the rest of them away from you, Adam."Sun said, before Adam shook his head. "Not gonna happen, Sun. I'm not losing any more family members."he said, causing his group to look at him, smiling for his amount of care Suddenly, they heard a scroll go off. Turning their heads, they saw Ozpin pull his scroll out and put it to his ear. "Craig. Yes, we're at Beacon. Very well, see you soon."he said, before he pocketed the scroll and looked at Adam. "Craig's escaped the Talons, and is on his way here."he said, before they heard a series of running footsteps. Turning, they saw a boy run up, then stop to catch his breath. "Welcome back, Craig."Ozpin said, before the boy nodded to the Headmaster. "Craig Mccolgan?"Adam asked, stepping up to the boy, who nodded. "Adam Robertson."he continued, extending a hand. Shaking it, Craig said, "I guessed as much. Honour to meet you." Smirking, Adam said in reply, "Honour's all mine. I appreciate you doing this, Craig. No doubt Jamie will be pissed when he finds out you've left.". Nodding, Craig replied, "He doesn't even know I'm here."he said, before another scroll ringtone went off. Pulling his scroll out and looking at the number, Adam turned the screen to Craig. "Seems he just figured it out."he said, before he put the scroll to his ear.

"How many of my men will you corrupt, Adam?"the angry voice of Jamie said, causing Adam to snigger. "Sucks, don't it? And I didn't corrupt them. You and Cinder did."he said, stepping to the edge of the cliff. "So you know."Jamie demanded, causing Adam to look back to Kayleigh. "What made you think I wouldn't find out?"he asked, before he turned back to look at Vale, where pillars of smoke were already rising. "You can't win, Jamie."he said, causing Jamie to laugh. "We shall see, little brother. At the end of today, one shall stand..."he said, before Adam finished it off with"...One shall fall!"and hung up. "Okay, now I've done it."he said, before he turned to his group. "Weapon and Semblance?"he asked Craig, who held up a hammer. "Semblance is Lightning Control. My hammer, Aldehyde, allows me to channel the lightning I create."Craig said, before Adam clapped him on the shoulder. "Welcome to the family."he said, before he looked at him again. "You got a team?"he asked, getting a shake from Craig's head. "He can join mine."Libby stated, before Craig nodded. "Alright, I'm in."he said, before walking over. "Alright, Team LPR is now CRPL (Corporal)!"Libby said, before Adam turned back to Vale. He then saw Ryan step up next to him. "You know we could die, right?"Adam asked, before Ryan nodded. "I got no plans tomorrow night."he said, before a movement on Adam's left caught his attention. Looking over, he saw Shannon and Kayleigh. "Same here."Shannon said, causing Adam to smile, before he turned back to the group. "Last chance to walk away."he said, causing the group to look at each other, before they all drew their weapons. "We're in."Ruby said, causing Adam to smile. An explosion behind them then caught their attention. Turning back, Adam saw a large number of Talons moving through Vale.

* * *

"Call it out, Adam."Ozpin said, with Adam nodding, before he looked back to Vale. "Alright, listen up. Till I can kill my brother, priority's containment. Teams RWBY, JNPR..."he said, pointing to a set of buildings, "...I want you on those rooftops, eyes on everything, call out patterns and strays. Teams CFVY, SSSN."He said, turning to the two teams. "You got the perimeter. Any of them get more than 3 blocks out, you turn them back, or you turn them to ash!" With the two teams nodding, Adam turned to his next pair. "Teams CRPL, NEM, you gotta try and bottleneck those forces, slow them down. You've got the lightning, Craig. Light the bastards up." He then turned to his team. "ARKS, we'll stay on the ground, keeping the fighting there."he said, getting nods from his teammates. "And us?"Ozpin asked, before Adam smiled. "Tear these fuckers apart. Same goes for all of you!"He said, causing the group to nod. "While Kayleigh and I deal with our siblings, the rest of you, rip these guys apart. You get hurt, hurt them back. You get killed, walk it off."he ordered, before he pulled his hood up. "Fight or Die."Ryan said, holding up a hand. "Fight or Die."Adam said, before grabbing his friend's arm. "Let's go."he said, before he leapt off the cliff, his crew behind him...

* * *

As soon as they landed, the group started to run through the city, towards the Talons. When they got close, Adam leapt into the air, and flew towards a member of the Talons, punching him straight through the chest, before pulling his fist out, and moving to grab a spear from it's owner, pull him forward, punch him, and spin the spear around before impaling him on his own weapon. Pulling the spear out, he then threw it with all of his strength, causing it to impale at least three other Talons. He then drew Deathcaliber from it's sheath, and immediately transformed it into it's rifle form, starting to blast Talons down mercilessly. Looking back, he saw that his group were doing just as well as him, while doing the jobs he had given them. He turned back when he felt a hand on his shoulder, only to receive a punch to the jaw. Reeling back, Adam raised a hand to his mouth, and saw blood. Smiling, he grabbed the hand that had punched him, and putting a large amount of power behind his arms, he ripped the arm clean off the man's body, before he kicked the man over, and left him to bleed out. Immediately, Adam turned Deathcaliber into it's blade form, before he sliced the head off another Talon. Looking over to his team, he saw that Shannon was pinned down by a large number of Talons. Looking over to Ryan, who nodded, Adam activated his Semblance and sped over, opening the stomachs of at least 4 Talons, before turning around and kicking another into his allies, sending them all to the ground. Offering a hand to Shannon, he pulled his teammate to her feet. "Where's Kayleigh?"he asked, kicking another Talon in the kneecap, before kneeing him in the face. "I don't know."she said, causing Adam to look round. "I need to get to higher ground."he said, before he heard a thud behind him. Turning round, he saw that Ryan had slammed a Talon's head into a wall, immediately killing the man. "We'll go with you, Adam!"Ryan said, before Ruby leapt down next to them. "We'll lock this area down, Adam!"she said, Adam nodding, before he grabbed Ryan and Shannon. "Better tense up, you two."he said, before he channelled his Aura into his legs and leapt straight up, landing on a nearby roof.

* * *

"Right, we need to find Kayleigh."Adam said, looking round the streets below, before Ryan slapped his shoulder, and pointed down to a nearby street corner, where Adam noticed that there were flames moving in unnatural ways. "Let's go."he said, leading the pair to that corner, where he saw that Kayleigh was flinging jets of fire towards a shadowy figure, who simply sent them flying back. When Adam leapt down next to her, Kayleigh looked to him, allowing her attention to slip, giving her opponent an opportunity. Sending a jet of flame towards ARKS, the figure went to walk forward, but they halted when Adam grabbed Kayleigh, and rolling to avoid the flame. Immediately, he transformed Deathcaliber into it's rifle and shot at the figure, who simply avoided the shot. "Who is this bitch?"Adam asked as he and Kayleigh got back to their feet. "Cinder."Kayleigh said, before the figure laughed. "So, you must be the famous Team ARKS. Cinder Fall."the figure said, before Adam scoffed. "Adam Robertson."he said, before Cinder conjured a fireball. "Pity. Your older brother wants you to himself, but you spoiled my fun, and for that, I'll paint Beacon in your blood!"she said, before a laughing behind her caught her attention.

"Cinder, I thought I made it clear. My brother stays alive. Kill the rest."Jamie said, as he walked up, Cameron and Ironwood, who had a new cybernetic hand, beside him. "Now, all of this could have been avoided Adam, if you handed yourself over. That boy, Fox was it? He didn't have to die. But you refused. Now, this is going to hurt. A lot. There are no prisoners with the Talons. Just order. And order only comes through pain. You ready for yours, little brother?"Jamie asked, as his backup stood next to him, Adam's group mirroring them, Adam facing Jamie, Ryan facing Cameron, Kayleigh facing Cinder, and Shannon facing Ironwood. "You know what, bro? Just shut the fuck up."Adam said, before the two teams flew towards each other...

* * *

 _Adam vs Jamie_

Adam and Jamie leapt towards each other, but Jamie got the upper hand, tackling Adam, grabbing his shoulders, flipping over him, and throwing him over a nearby car, into the bonnet of another. As Adam picked himself up, he staggered slightly, as the force behind the throw was more than he had expected. As he struggled to stay upright Jamie had leapt on the car, and squatted down, laughing as Adam shakily got up. "C'mon!"He said, gesturing for Adam to come at him. Adam was more than happy to oblige him. Growling as he slid off the car, he placed a hand on either side of the car's wreckage, as Jamie leapt off his car and started to run at Adam. As he went to throw a flying punch, Adam spun back around, pulling the car with his body. "Batter up!"He shouted, as the car made contact with Jamie, sending the older Robertson flying into a nearby building, before Adam discarded the car. As he saw his brother climb out the hole in the building, he heard him laughing. "That the best you got?"Jamie growled, before he walked out of the rubble. "Fine then."Adam said, as he flicked his arm to the side, and Deathcaliber slid into his hand. Smirking, Jamie done the same. "Sweet irony, brother."Jamie said, spinning his sword, before gripping it. "You helped me make this blade, and now it'll be the weapon that kills you." Growling slightly, Adam's grip on Deathcaliber tightened, as Jamie ran towards him, before running forward himself. Jamie leapt into the air, and swung his blade down, only for Adam to block it. The two brothers then engaged in a furious battle, only the distinguished sound of blades clashing being recognisable...

* * *

 _Ryan vs Cameron_

Ryan and Cameron had engaged each other in a brutal sword fight, and quickly had become separated from their respective teams. The two of them were fairly evenly matched, but Cameron was ruthless in his attacks, and he eventually gained an opening by locking Ryan's blade with his, driving it down into the ground, before flipping over the pommel of his blade, and kicking Ryan with both of his legs, sending Ryan flying back into a wall. As Ryan landed on the ground, Cameron strode towards him. "It didn't have to come to this, Ryan. You should have joined us!"He laughed, as Ryan struggled to get back on his feet. "Never!"the boy in yellow spat out, reaching for his sword, but Cameron saw this and went to kick him again, but Ryan grabbed his foot, and twisted it, snapping the bones, and sending Cameron to the ground. Seizing the opportunity, Ryan picked up Stormblade, and stood over Cameron, who looked up at him, noticed his sword was too far away, before he burst out laughing. "This is for Fox."Ryan said, before Cameron nodded. "You know, all of this was foretold! I knew you'd be the one to kill me, Ryan, but now I'm doubting you'll go through with it. It's not your style."he said, before Ryan suddenly ran him through, thrusting Stormblade through his heart. "Once perhaps. No longer."Ryan whispered to him, before he pulled the blade out, and kicked him over, leaving him to bleed out. "Don't save me a spot in hell, you prick. I'm not coming soon."he said, cleaning his blade on his jeans, before he ran off to assist his team, as Cameron went limp behind him.

* * *

 _Kayleigh vs Cinder_

Where the brothers had immediately engaged in combat, the two sisters had started to circle each other, each having one hand ready for the first move, neither wanting to make the first attack. Suddenly, Cinder screamed, and flung a ball of flame to Kayleigh, who's eyes widened, before she leapt to the side, and returned the shot, but Cinder simply batted the flame away. "Not good enough, sister!"Cinder yelled, before Kayleigh growled, and morphed a nearby bunch of flame into a replica of her boyfriend's weapon. "Seems like you've improved. I must say, I'm impressed."Cinder said, before chuckling. "I had a good teacher."Kayleigh said, before Cinder pulled a black bow off her back. "Pity that they'll be dead by the end of the day!"she said, sending an arrow at Kayleigh, who was only saved by the quick reflexes she had trained with Ryan and Shannon. Ducking, she heard the arrow connect with a wall. She turned the Flamecaliber, as she had called it, into its rifle form, and shot a multitude of shots at Cinder, who cartwheeled out the way, spun on her knee, and shot another arrow at Kayleigh, who couldn't dodge this time, and the arrow went grazed her shoulder, causing her to drop her weapon, which dissipated as it hit the ground. Laughing, Cinder stepped up to her, drew another arrow and pointed the bow at her sister's head. "Pitiful. I can't believe Jamie's little brother wanted you to be his romantic partner."she said, as Kayleigh glared at her. "Fuck you! Adam's ten times the man Jamie will ever be!"the ARKS member said, before Cinder smirked. "I see. You really love him, don't you?"She asked, as Kayleigh struggled to get back up. "Yeah, I do. Problem with that?"she spat, before Cinder leaned down. "Well, I've seen he's many things, but there's one thing he's not."she said, before she whispered...

"He's not here."

After saying this, Cinder straightened back up, and pulled the bowstring back...

* * *

 _Shannon vs Ironwood_

"We don't have to fight, Ms Mcafferty. We're on the same side."Ironwood said, raising his hands in defence, as Shannon had Reaper pointed at him. "Sorry, but I'm not turning my back on Adam. He's my teammate, as well as my family. And you betrayed him, and everyone under your protection. For that, you're going to die."she said, her finger tightening on the trigger, as Ironwood nodded. "I know. But I was doing it all for the Kingdoms. I fully intend for Jamie to win this war, but then I'm going to kill him, and destroy the Talons from within. So please..."he said, spinning his pistol or and pointing it at Shannon. "Stand down. I'd rather not be responsible for your death."he said, before Shannon scoffed. "Even if you speak the truth, Adam's family to me, not to mention, I have my orders. Goodbye."she said, before she opened fire on Ironwood, who blocked most of the shots, but he missed one, and it entered into his side. Gripping his side in pain, he went to draw his pistol, but he noticed Shannon had disappeared. "Where'd you go?"he said quietly, before a voice behind him, caused his hair to stand on end. "Right behind you."the voice said, causing him to turn around, before a blade flashed down, and dismembered the metallic hand from Ironwood's arm. "I never could stand groveling."Shannon spat, before Ironwood glared at her, and flung his arm out into her face, the sparks from it blinding her. "Fine then, you brat!"Ironwood yelled, before Shannon's vision cleared, and she saw that Ironwood had vanished. "Damn!"she said, before she felt a presence behind her. Suddenly spinning around, she saw that Craig had walked up. "You okay?"he asked, as Shannon sheathed Reaper. Nodding, she went to walk away. "Get back to the others. I need to help my team."she said, before Craig shook his head. "They'll be fine. I know how bad the Talons are. C'mon..."he said, stepping up and drawing his hammer. "Let's go."he said, before Shannon nodded. "Alright."she said, leading the way.

* * *

 _Adam/Kayleigh vs Jamie/Cinder (2)_

"Just...fucking...die!"Jamie roared, before he connected a fist with the side of Adam's head, sending his brother flying. Landing on his back, Adam skidded along the ground, before flipping himself back to his feet and running towards Jamie. Just before he went to leap at Jamie, he saw that Kayleigh was lying on the ground, grasping her bleeding shoulder, and Cinder standing over her, aiming an arrow at her head. Slamming his hand into the ground, Adam made his body turn to the sisters, and ran up to Cinder, and immediately kneed her in the face. "Get the fuck away from my girlfriend!"He yelled, as Cinder was sent flying. As she landed on the ground, Adam pulled Kayleigh to her feet. "You okay?"he asked, receiving a nod from his girlfriend. "Good, now let's show them what we got!"He said, as he saw Jamie help Cinder to her feet. "Sounds good, partner!"she said, before the two pairs of partners faced off. "Just don't go dying on me."he said, before she nodded. Drawing Deathcaliber, Adam looked back to Jamie, who smirked. "This, I must admit, has surprised me, Adam. The Robertson children, and the Murphy children, fighting each other, together."the older Robertson said, before Adam nodded. "Alright, last chance to walk away, Jamie. What's it gonna be?"he asked, as he and Kayleigh got into a fighting position. Nodding to Cinder, both the older siblings mirrored their actions. "Fight or die, remember?"Jamie asked, before Adam smirked. "Fight or Die."he said, before he leaned forward. "3..."he started, before Jamie continued with, "2..." and Kayleigh said, "1...", before Cinder said, ""Now!", and all four leapt towards their siblings.

* * *

Not willing to give Jamie an opening, Adam immediately activated his Semblance, and started to barrage his brother with a series of slashes, almost all of which were blocked by Jamie using Nightsting. His temper rising, he noticed that Jamie had left the handle of his sword unguarded. Pushing Nightsting away from a blade lock, he struck the back of Jamie's hand, causing him to drop the blade, before he blocked a punch from Jamie, and placed the barrel of Deathcaliber against his stomach. "Block this."he said, pulling the trigger, which sent Jamie flying. Thinking Jamie was down for good, Adam sheathed his sword, and looked over to the Murphy sisters, and saw Cinder forcing Kayleigh to her knees, a fireball in her hand. _"Oh, hell no!"_ Adam thought, before he ran over, leapt up, and brought his feet down on the back of Cinder's knees, causing her to fall to the ground, and to release Kayleigh, who took the opportunity to create a pair of flaming swords, and pulled them upwards, the blades slicing through her sister's shoulders, dismembering her arms, causing Cinder to scream in agony. "Goddammit!"Cinder yelled, before Adam saw Kayleigh's swords dissipate, and his girlfriend conjure a fireball. "Could you look away, Adam? I'd rather do this without witnesses."she said, venom evident in her voice. "Sure thing, babe."he said, before he kissed her. "Take as long as you need. Just make her suffer."he said, before he saw Ryan, Shannon and Craig run up. "Thank God you're alright, you lot!"He said, running up and embracing each of them, before the smell of burning flesh & the screams of Cinder echoed across the street, and Adam had to stop the three from going to Kayleigh. "Don't."he said, holding Ryan back. "She needs to do this, as do I."he said, before Ryan looked over to Jamie, and knelt down next to him.

As Ryan examined Jamie, Adam saw a dark cloud lingering on his brother's hand, causing his eyes to widen. "Ryan, get back!"He shouted, causing Ryan to look at him in confusion, before he felt a vice iron grip on his neck. Looking round, he saw Jamie wasn't really dead, and he had started to strangle him, with his eyes blood red. "You'll pay for this!"Jamie roared, throwing Ryan back with the arm he had grabbed him with, sending him into a wall, and causing him to slump to the ground. Worrying for their brother in arms, Adam, Shannon, and Craig ran over to Ryan, who coughed out, "Fight, or Die. Remember, Adam?", before Adam's face darkened. "You two, get him out of here."Adam said, before he straightened back up. "I'm ending this. Now."he snarled, his fist clenching hard enough to draw blood. Quickly, his fellow Huntsmen followed his orders, vanishing from the scene. Snarling, Adam turned back to Jamie, who had gotten back to his feet. "All of my lieutenants. Dead. Because of you!"Jamie roared, before he flung his arms up, and brought them back down just as quickly. As he did this, a large explosion of dark light enveloped him, and when it cleared, Adam saw his brother was enveloped in what was clearly his dark Aura, and his eyes were blood red. "Now, you DIE!"Jamie yelled, before Adam smirked. "Not today, Jamie!"He spat, before he clenched his fist even harder, and copied the same movement Jamie did, and his Light Aura enveloped him, and he felt an overwhelming power inside him.

* * *

"Equal ground now..."he growled, before he activated his Semblance, which he noticed had been amplified, allowing him to move much faster, and ran towards Jamie, who simply batted him away with the back of his hand. But this time, Adam was sent flying into the air, eventually landing in the middle of the square where the battle had started, and narrowly missed crushing Coco, who jumped out the way, and Adam crashed into the fountain she had been standing in front of. As he struggled out of the wreckage of the fountain, all members of his crew and the Talons stopped what they were doing when they heard an inhuman roar. "Adam, is that Jamie?"Coco asked, before Jamie landed in front of them. "Yes, it is!"He said, before he picked Adam up and slammed him back into the fountain, before releasing him, withdrawing his sword, and immediately plunged the weapon into Adam's stomach, causing Adam to cry out in agony, before he yanked the blade back out, and raised it.

"Any last words?"he asked, before Adam started to laugh. "The cold grip of death comes for you, and yet you laugh?"Jamie asked, before Adam started to laugh again. "You know, for all your accomplishments, Jamie, you're still bone-dead stupid. All this work to bring Ironwood into your fold, and now he's got all the power."Adam spat, causing Jamie to lower his sword slightly. "Explain, and you might live longer."he said, before Adam said, "Your Talons, finally achieving their goal, and yet their leader won't be you!", causing Jamie's face to darken. "It will be me, it will always be me!"He said, before Adam leaned in closer, and whispered, "Any minute now, you'll be nothing more than Ironwood's little bitch!", before his brother went to bring the sword down, but halted. "You may be trying to deceive me, but I can't take the chance. First Ironwood, then you!"He said, before Ironwood appeared, and looked at Adam. "Jamie, why isn't he dead? Your chance is right in front of you!"the General said, before Jamie stepped toward him, before his arm slashed out, and opened his chest, his guts spilling out. "This is my victory!"Jamie yelled, before starting to beat Ironwood relentlessly, not noticing that Team ARKS had returned and ran up to Adam, who had regained a small bit of strength, and looked at Ryan. "Fight or Die."Ryan said, placing Deathcaliber next to Adam's hand.

"Now then, we need a truce."Jamie said, throwing Ironwood down to the ground. "All I want is to be back in charge. Besides..."he said, pointing to Adam. "Who would you be without me, Adam?" Smirking, Adam pulled his his hood up, and said, "Time to find out." Grabbing his sword, he threw it into Jamie's chest, before running up, pulling the sword out, flipping over Jamie, and slicing his back twice, before sheathing Deathcaliber, and placing a hand on Jamie's shoulder. "I stand..."he said, before plunging his hand through his brother's chest, his heart in his hand. Without even hesitating, he crushed the heart, and kicked Jamie's body off his arm. "...You fall."he finished, before he withdrew Deathcaliber again, and walked towards Ironwood. "Robertson, all I ever wanted was the survival of our people. You must understand why I had to betray you."The General said, as Adam loaded his rifle. "You didn't betray me, Ironwood."he said, cocking the chamber. "You betrayed yourself."he said, pointing the rifle at Ironwood's chest. "No, Robertson!"Ironwood yelled, reaching for his pistol, but Adam pulled the trigger, shooting his victim in the chest, causing him to fall to the ground, convulsing in pain, before Adam shot him again, this time in the head, splattering it. Breathing heavily, Adam sheathed his sword, and looked to the bodies of Jamie and Ironwood, before he said, "Rest in peace...you bastards.", and walked over to his crew.

"Adam, your hand."Kayleigh said, before Adam looked down at his right hand, where he saw that the dark cloud that had covered Jamie was now creeping up his arm. Looking back to Jamie, he walked over, placed his hand on his brother's chest, and concentrated. Immediately, the black mass came out of Jamie's chest and disappeared into Adam's hand. From what the onlookers could gather, this was what was known as 'absorbing Aura'. After he was finished, Adam straightened back up, and flexed his hand. Looking to Ozpin, he said, "Get everyone out of here.", before Ryan went to step forward, but Adam backed up. "GET THE HELL OUT OF HERE!"He yelled, before his team got the hint, and escorted everyone away. When he was finally alone in the street, Adam felt like his insides were going to explode, before that energy worked its way out, and he exploded in an explosion of Aura, that worked its way out a large distance from him, before he screamed, due to the two Auras fusing, but the sound soon died down. When the Aura field died down, Adam could be seen, lying unconscious on the ground...

* * *

 **A/N: And...the war is finally over! Sorry for: A, if it seems like I jumped around a bit too much, and B, If the deaths in this chapter seemed too easy. I just wanted to get this chapter out. And the story isn't even done yet! See you lot next chapter. Madman out!**


	22. Home

**A/N: Hi guys, and welcome back to RoTA! I have an important announcement concerning this story, but I'll save it for the end. Enjoy!**

* * *

 **Chapter 22- Home**

Adam had been recovered from the street almost immediately after he collapsed, as the members of his team had quickly returned, picked him up and carried him back to Beacon, and placed him in an infirmary bed. All of them then got to work on repairing Vale from the damage the Talons had inflicted, as well as interrogating the Talons they had captured. Well, almost all of them. Adam's crew had stayed at the infirmary, waiting for him to wake up, with only Teams SSSN & NEM swapping out periodically to help with Vale. Despite the large amount of Talons that had invaded Vale, the clean-up only took a couple of days, due to the large number of Huntsmen that helped. Thanks to Team CRDL, the authorities had learned Grimm had started to encroach on Vale due to the large pool of negative emotion coming from Vale. Thankfully, a large number of Huntsmen had diverted their efforts to quell the rising Grimm numbers. Between the two efforts, the whole of Vale was soon back to normal, and the civilians that had to evacuate before the attack started to return. After the clean-up was finished, Adam's crew continued their vigil over their leader, which only got more heartwrenching the longer it went on, especially for Kayleigh, who remained absolutely silent, only talking to Libby & Ryan, who were the only other people as close to Adam to her, and remained in a tearful state every other minute. This had started when Adam was brought in, and continued for the next few days...

On the second day after Adam had been brought in, Team ARKS had taken up residence in his room, and Kayleigh was sitting next to Adam's bed, his hand in hers, tears streaming down her face. Ryan and Shannon looked to each other, nodded, then left, leaving Kayleigh alone with Adam. "Adam, please, I need to know if you can hear me. I know you've had a lot of pressure on you, but if you're able to hear me, we need you. _I_ need you."she said, before she placed her hand on his cheek. "Remember what I said before? If I lose you, I won't be able to go on. I meant it. So don't you go dying on me now, Adam Robertson. Cause I'm not ready to stop right now. Please. I love you, Adam."she said, before she kissed him. When she broke away, she heard Adam groan. "It's about damn time."he said, pulling himself up into a sitting position.

"Adam?"Kayleigh asked fearfully, before Adam looked at her and kissed her. "Hey babe. Miss me?"he asked, before he was wrapped in a fierce but gentle hug. "You idiot! You had me scared to death!"she yelled, before Adam chuckled. "Sorry 'bout that. I just had to allow my two Auras to fuse. Not pleasant, let me tell you. But I'm sure you don't need me to tell you that."he said, before Kayleigh nodded. "How was it for you?"Adam asked, before Kayleigh conjured a fireball, which burned brighter than he was used to. "It was hot. Really hot. I can't imagine how it was for you."she said, dissipating the fireball, before Adam rubbed his stomach lightly. "Agony."he said bluntly, before a low rumbling emanated round the room. "Hungry?"Kayleigh asked, before Adam grinned. "Famished."he said, before his brows furrowed in seriousness. "How long have I been out?"he asked, before Kayleigh said, "Two days." Smirking, Adam dragged himself out of the bed, and was surprised to see he was still wearing his jacket and hoodie. "You sure you should be up and about, Adam?"Kayleigh asked, Adam simply flexing his arm while activating his Aura. Immediately, his body glowed, but in a darker colour that they were used to. "Huh."Adam said, deactivating the Aura. "Guess Jamie rubbed off on me."he said, before he nodded towards the door. "Let's go."he said, leading his partner out into the hallway, and towards the rest of their group.

"Look, I don't want to admit it, but we might have to start entertaining the possibility that he might not wake up."they heard Blake say, before every other member froze in shock when they saw Adam. "What?"she asked, before she turned round, and saw Adam walk up. "You counting me out already, Belladonna?"he asked, before Libby tackled him in a hug. "That still you in there, Adam?"Ryan asked, when Adam released his sister. "Yeah. Hold off on burying me just yet."the boy in black asked, before a voice behind him caught his attention. "You shouldn't be walking about, Mister Robertson."a nurse said, before Adam smirked. "I'm fine. Tell Ozpin I'm up."he said, waving a hand without a care in the world, causing the nurse to nod and walk away. Turning back to Ryan, he asked, "Where's Teams SSSN & NEM?", which caused Ryan's face to darken. "They've been helping with the repairs to Vale. They think that they're not members of our 'family' here."his second in command said, before Adam smiled. "Well, we'll need to rectify that."he said, before he went to leave. "Let's go."he said, before he lead the crew out of the infirmary.

* * *

After the crew entered Beacon, Adam noticed that a large number of Huntsmen were heading towards the cafeteria. Following then, he saw that they were engaging in what seemed to be a celebration. Spying Team CRDL, which was missing Russell Thrush, sitting over in a corner, Adam stormed over. "Well, look who finally decided to wake up!"Cardin shouted, drawing the attention of a nearby crowd. "This your drink?"Adam asked, pointing to a bottle of beer next to Cardin. "Yeah, that's my drink."Cardin said, before Adam picked up the bottle, and smashed it against a wall, drawing the attention of the whole room. "The fuck you doing?"Cardin said, pushing himself off his chair. Turning back to him, Adam clenched his fist. "How many people did we lose in the attack?"he asked the whole room, which caused a deathly silence to occur, which was only broken by a Huntress walking up and saying, "200." This caused Adam to look at her in shock, before looking back to Cardin. "You're celebrating when we lost 200 people?"he asked, before Cardin looked away from him. "From what I've heard, we didn't capture or kill all of the Talons. Every single life that was lost in this attack is a victory the Talons have over us. We can't celebrate until we pay back the Talons in kind, by burying every last one of them."he said, causing a ripple of shock to go round the room at his declaration. Looking at Adam, Ryan noticed his eyes flickered scarlet for an instant. "It couldn't be..."he said quietly, before he stepped forward and stopped Cardin from moving to hit Adam."You can say all the stuff you like, Robertson, but at least the whole of your team is still alive!"Cardin said, causing Adam's eyes to widen, and he unclenched his fist. "Russell's dead. A Nevermore got a shot in at him, when we went to help clear the Grimm from the wall."Cardin explained, before Adam looked at him in sorrow. "Cardin, I'm sorry. I didn't know..."he said, but the other Huntsmen scoffed. "Save it. He knew what he was getting into. I just won't forget the fact he died because of you."Cardin said, before barging past Adam, his two remaining teammates behind him.

"Adam, we won. The Talons have been defeated. And Taurus and Torchwick have been killed by Blake. There's none of the leaders left."Ryan said, before Adam shook his head. "My brother was many things, but he wasn't influential enough to get that much help with an attack. There has to be more than just the leaders we took down here."he said, before he went to leave. "Where you going?"Shannon asked, causing Adam to turn back. "I'm gonna go see Ozpin. You coming?"he asked, before the group nodded. "Let's go then."he said, turning and exiting the hall, the group behind him. Immediately after leaving, they saw the two remaining teams of their group walk up. "Alright, Adam? Good to see you up and about."Sun said, before Adam smirked. "Never been better."he said, before his face got serious. "Onto more pressing matters. What's this I hear about you lot not considering yourselves part of the family?"he asked, before Neo spoke up. "We joined just before the attack. We haven't had time to prove we're worthy of being part of this 'family' here."she said, causing Adam to nod, before he laughed. "Where I was raised, we were taught that loyal fighters are the ones who you should consider family. You chose to fight alongside me during the attack, showing your loyalty, and for that, you have my thanks, and a place in the family."he said, causing the two teams to go to speak up, before he held up a hand. "Forget what you were just about to say. I bet it's safe to say I'm talking for all of us here."he said, causing the rest of the group to smile and nod. "Thanks, you guys. It means a lot."Emerald said, before Ryan tapped Adam's shoulder. "Aren't we supposed to be going to see Ozpin?"he asked, before Adam facepalmed. "Shit, I forgot!"he said, before he turned to Teams SSSN & NEM. "You coming?"he asked, before the two teams shook their heads. "We've been asked by Ozpin to help clean up the cafeteria."Sun said, before Velvet cleared her throat. "I'll help you."she said, before Sun smirked. "Fair enough."he said, before he led his small group towards the cafeteria. "Alright..."Adam said, turning to his remaining friends, "Let's go."

* * *

Soon after, Adam's group was waiting for the elevator to Ozpin's office. As the doors opened, they saw Goodwitch step out. "Ah, Robertson, good to see you up and about!"she said, before she smiled. "Ozpin's waiting for you. There's someone he wants you to meet."she said, gesturing to the elevator. "Alright, thanks, Glynda."Adam said, before he looked back to his group. "C'mon."he said, as his crew got into the elevator. Pressing the button, Adam nodded to Goodwitch, who responded in kind, before she walked off, and the doors closed. After they opened, the crew stepped out into the office, catching the Headmaster's attention. When he turned to see who had entered, Adam saw a smile spread on his face.

"Adam! I must say, I'm surprised to see you up and about so soon."Ozpin said, before Adam smiled. "Can't keep a good Robertson down."he quipped, before his smile faded. "Speaking of which, my brother's body. Where is it?"he asked, before Ozpin brought up a video feed. "We have placed the bodies of the Talon leaders, namely Jamie, Cameron, Cinder and Ironwood in a crypt, where they can remain until you choose what to do with them."he said, bringing down the video, before Adam looked to his crew. "Send them home to their families. Tell them they died with honour. We should show them the respect they deserve."he said, before Ozpin nodded. "Very well. I shall leave Jamie and Cinder to you and Miss Murphy."he said, before the couple nodded. "Thanks."Adam said, before the elevator dinged again. Turning, Adam's group saw that Sun's group had joined them, as well as a gentleman they didn't recognize. Adam immediately got an uneasy feeling from the man.

"Ahh, Councillor Shade! So glad you were able to make it!"Ozpin said, before the gentleman held up a hand, and liked around the students. When his gaze landed on Adam, he glared at him. "I was hoping to speak with you alone, Ozpin."Shade said, before Ozpin shook his head. "Anything you can say to me, you can say to Mr Robertson and his family."he said, causing the councillor to look to the students. "Very well. I simply wanted to receive a report from you about the attack. Good job on ending that, by the way."he said, before Adam gestured for his group to follow him. As they went to move, Ozpin said, "As much as I would like to accept that praise, I am not the one who stopped the Talons. That honour belongs to Mister Robertson."he said, gesturing to the boy. "Well then, let us hope that Mister Robertson and his family will always be around to save the day!"He said, sarcasm evident in his tone, causing Adam to freeze. "Don't worry, Councillor..."he said, turning back to Shade, "...We will be!"He finished, before he turned to leave. "Let's go, guys."he said, his crew nodding, before he turned to Ozpin. "You know where we are, Professor, if you need us."he said, before Ozpin nodded. "Very well. I will call for your crew in a bit."he said, before Adam and his friends nodded, before they left the office."What now, Adam?"Shannon asked, her leader shrugging, as he looked at his scroll. "Well, our summer holiday's coming up in a couple of weeks, so we should get ready to leave."he said, before his crew nodded. "I'm going to the gym. I need to see how good this new Complete Aura of mine is. You lot can do whatever you want."he said, before his crew nodded, and he turned and walked away, before his crew looked to each other, nodded and dispersed.

Soon, Adam reached the gym, and immediately went to work on a punching bag, breaking it in almost one punch, sending it flying it into the wall, causing a couple of other students to back away in fear, looking at him judgementally. In some sense, Adam could sense them looking at him, and turning to a helpless student who had a black eye, he said, "You've already got one black eye, asshole. You want another one, keep looking!", causing another boy to walk up. "Hey! Take it easy!"He said, before the Team ARKS member turned to him, a dark colour enveloping him, and his eyes slowly turning red. "You want some too?"he asked, clenching a fist, before his scroll went off. "Count yourself lucky."he spat, pulling out the scroll, before reading the message:

 _From: Shannon Mccafferty_

 _To: Adam Robertson_

 _Message: We got an issue at the dorm. Get up here._

His angry demeanour fading as he pocketed the scroll, Adam turned to the two boys. "Word of advice. Stay the fuck out of my way."he growled, before he left the gym. Soon after, he reached the corridor where his dorm was, and he found that Shannon and Kayleigh were standing outside. "Where's Ryan?"he asked, before Shannon shrugged. "No idea, but we've got a bigger problem. We're locked out."she said, before Adam pulled his scroll out, and pushed it against the electronic lock. "ACCESS GRANTED."The scroll screen said, before Adam went to open the door, but he found that he couldn't open it. Putting one hand on the door, he pushed his shoulder against it, and channelled his Aura into his hand and shoulder. As he exerted himself, his vision flashed, and he saw a pair of colours behind the door. Shocked, he fell backwards onto the floor, and his two teammates ran to his side. "You alright?"Kayleigh asked, before Adam nodded, looking at his hand in shock. "Aura Detection..."he said quietly, before he got up, and put his hand back on the door. Breathing slowly, he closed his eyes, and instantly, his vision flashed again, and this time, he could clearly see two Auras behind the door, right at the spot where Ryan's bed would be. Smirking, he took his hand off the door, and turned to his teammates. "Guess I'm paying for a new door. Stand back."he said, causing his two teammates to back up. Channelling his Aura into his legs, he instantly kicked the door, sending it flying open, as well as pushing a chair to the side, as it had been used as a blockade. Stepping into the room, Adam looked over to Ryan's bed, where he saw his friend, as well as Rachel, had just sprung apart. This caused Adam to chuckle.

* * *

"Rachel, could we talk to our teammate for a minute?"Adam asked, before the Faunus nodded, and went to leave, before she was stopped by Adam grabbing her arm. "One question. Did you start this?"he asked, before Rachel nodded. "Nope. This was all him."she said, before Adam nodded. "Just understand, he's my brother. You break his heart, we're going to have issues. Got it?"he asked, before Rachel nodded, and he released her arm. Immediately, Rachel left the room, and Adam lifted the door back up into its frame with one hand. "Alright, Ryan. Not that I have a problem with this, and far be it for me to tell you what you can and can't do, but why would you do it in here?"he asked, turning to his friend, who fell back on his bed. "You've got some cheek to lecture me on that, when you and Kayleigh do it all the time!"Ryan said, before Adam chuckled. "At least our relationship is known to the group."he defended, before Ryan nodded. "Touche."he said, before Adam offered him a hand, and pulled him off the bed. "Relax, Ryan. You'll get no judging from me."he said, before the girls stepped up. "Or us."Kayleigh said, before Ryan smiled. "Thanks, guys."he said, before Adam jerked his head towards the door. "Get after her. That's an order."he said jokingly, to which Ryan saluted. "Yes, boss."he said, before running out the room. "Alright, let's get to work on this door."Adam said, before the three got to fixing the door...

* * *

 **2 weeks later...**

The next two weeks had literally flown by, and before Adam and his crew knew it, they were at the airstrip, waiting for the airships that would take them home for the holidays. Currently, the group was talking amongst themselves, before Adam looked round. "Where's Neo, Penny, Sun and Velvet?"he asked the group at large, who shrugged. "Sun said he was going to meet someone."Neptune said, before Coco piped up. "Same for Velvet." This caused Libby to say, "Penny as well." And finally, Emerald said, "Neo said the same." This caused Adam to narrow his eyes, before they saw the four run up. Immediately, the group's eyes were drawn to the fact that Sun's and Velvet's hands were joined, as well as Neo's and Penny's. "Seems this group is one giant love nest."Adam said, before the two new couples shrugged. "That reminds me, I need to do something. Back in a bit."he said, kissing Kayleigh on the cheek, before speeding off.

After running across the courtyard, Adam stopped in front of his goal: Fox's grave. Smiling, he reached down, and picked up a flower from the ground, before he keeled in front of the stone. "Hey Fox."he said, before he placed the flower on the stone. "I hope you're listening. We won. The Talons are gone, or so everyone seems to think. Not me. No, I think they're still out there. The war's not over yet, as much as I wish it was. It's only gonna get harder here. It's just a shame that we had to lose you to succeed here. I know we didn't talk much, but you could make me laugh a couple of times, so that's enough to make me feel sorry for putting you here. I hope you've found lasting peace down there, down among the dead."he said, placing a hand on the stone. "I've gotta go. The holidays are just starting."he said, going to leave, before he turned back. "Goodbye, Fox."he said, walking away.

As he was halfway across the courtyard, he saw Ozpin walk up. "Professor!"Adam said, walking up to the Headmaster. "Adam. I came down to see you off, seeing the service you provided for Vale. I also had to tell you something."Ozpin said, before Adam nodded. "Which is?"he asked, before Ozpin smiled. "At the start of next year, I need to talk to you and Miss Murphy."he said, before Adam nodded. "Sounds good."The ARKS leader said, before he saw his crew entering the airships. "You'd better go."Ozpin said, before Adam nodded, and held out his hand. "Thanks, Ozpin."he said, as Ozpin took his hand, before he embraced him. "For everything."he said, before releasing him. "It's me that should be thanking you, Adam. Now get going."Ozpin said, pushing him along. Nodding, the boy sped off, leaving Ozpin alone. "He's come a long way."The voice of Goodwitch said, before Ozpin smiled. "Yes, he has, but he's got a lot further to go. Lisa would be proud."he said. "All of their parents would be. They were friends then, and their children seem to be following their example."his fellow teacher said, before Ozpin nodded. "Let's go."he said, leading her back into Beacon.

Back with Adam, he had just finished helping Ryan get his stuff into the airship, before he turned to see Kayleigh standing off by herself. "Back in a bit."he said, walking up to his girlfriend. "What's up?"he asked, before Kayleigh looked at him. "I've got nowhere to go this holiday. My family is dead, remember?"she said, before Adam nodded. "I understand. They can't be your family anymore."he said, putting a hand on her shoulder. "But we can."he finished, causing her to look at him. "There's a free room at the Robertson house, if I remember correctly. If you want, it's yours."he said, before Kayleigh nodded, and hugged him. "Thank you!"she said, before both of them walked into the airship. "It's kinda strange to be going home after all of this, isn't it?"Ryan asked Adam, who smiled. "I'm not going home."his leader said, looking back to Beacon. "Not really."

* * *

 **A couple of hours later...**

Teams ARKS, RWBY & CRPL had disembarked at Patch airstrip, where a man and woman walked up to Ryan. "Hello Mum. Dad."Ryan said, embracing both of them, before they turned to Adam. "Adam."Mr Clougherty said, before Adam embraced him as well. "Good to see you again. I need to ask you something when we get home."he said, before the man nodded. "And who are these?"he asked, nodding towards the other students. "Teams RWBY & CRPL. They're cool."Adam said, before he pulled Kayleigh closer to him. "And this is Kayleigh Murphy, our teammate, and my girlfriend."he said, before Ryan's parents smiled. "Nice to meet you, Kayleigh."They said, before another man walked up. "Dad!" Ruby and Yang said, tackling the man in a hug. Chuckling, Adam said, "You must be Taiyang." Nodding, the man smiled at Adam. "I can recognize a Robertson from a mile away. You're Lisa's boy, Adam, was it?"he said, before Adam nodded. "I knew her well. As well as the Cloughertys."Taiyang continued, embracing Ryan's parents. "Right, let's get these kids home."Mr Clougherty said, and Teams ARKS & CRPL were soon being driven to the Clougherty's home, while Team RWBY went with Taiyang to his home.

After getting their bags, the two teams were in the Clougherty's living room, and were having a good time laughing with Ryan's parents. Then, Ryan's father turned to Adam. "I believe you wanted to talk to me?"he asked, before Adam nodded. The two of them went upstairs, and Ryan's father sat down in a chair on one side of a desk. "What is it?"he asked, before Adam smiled. "The keys to the Robertson house. I gave them to you for safekeeping. I'd like them back."he said, causing the older man's face to widen in shock. "You sure about this?"he asked, as he got the key from a hook. "I've been running for too long. Time to stop, for now, at least."he said, before Mr Clougherty dropped the key into his hand. "Very well. Just remember, you're always welcome here."he said, before Adam nodded. "Thank you."he said, before leaving the room. After going downstairs, he tapped Kayleigh on the shoulder. "Let's go."he said, holding up the key. Smiling, his girlfriend, Shannon and and Libby followed him, and a few minutes later, they were outside a large house in a forest clearing.

"Welcome to the Robertson home."Adam said, unlocking the door, before stepping back to allow the girls entry first. "This is your home?"Kayleigh asked, looking around the living room. "Yeah. It's been a while, though."Adam said, dumping his bag on the ground. "But, I can finally call this my home again."he said, stepping up to Kayleigh, and embracing her from behind. "And there's a space for you, if you want."he said, before Kayleigh blushed. "Thank you."she said, spinning around, and kissing him. "So, what now?"Shannon asked, before Adam turned to her. "I don't know, Shannon."he said, stepping over to the kitchen and looking out the window...

"But I can't wait to find out!"

* * *

 **A/N: And that's a wrap! Now, in regards to the 'important announcement', it's this: a little bit of bad news, and a little bit of good. The bad: This was the final chapter of RoTA. The good news: Adam and his 'family's' misadventures are far from done. So, I am happy to announce that after I take a short break from writing for RoTA, during which I'll still update Clannad Story, I will be starting the second chapter of the RoTA saga: " _RoTA Vol. 2: Payback"_. I hope you'll enjoy it as much as I've enjoyed writing RoTA. So, until then, Madman out! **


	23. Announcement

**ANNOUNCEMENT**

 _Hey guys, MadmanRoberto123 here, and this is the last thing that will be uploaded to RoTA. This is simply a list of ideas and concepts that I changed or removed over the time I wrote RoTA. I'll also make note of what I kept the same. Note that I said in the early chapters that my brain dictated what I ended up writing. Enjoy._

1.) The concept of Split Auras and SAIs didn't exist. Jamie and Cameron were still going to be antagonists, but they wouldn't attack Beacon for Adam's Aura, simply for the enjoyment of it instead.

2.) Ironwood wasn't going to be a traitor, but he would constantly be making bad decisions that would endanger Adam's family, such as getting Penny torn apart, and Team CFVY getting captured. Rescuing CFVY would result in Fox's death.

3.) In place of Ironwood, Adam would be a traitor, but would turn out to be a triple agent, helping Beacon take down Jamie and Cameron, but would lose trust with the group.

4.) Ruby was originally going to get captured by Jamie. This would lower the group's morale.

5.) More chapters from the other character's perspectives would have been implemented, but they were cut, as I seem to only be able to write from my perspective and Kayleigh's.

6.) And finally, the Beacon Dance would be included in the story, but for the sake of the future chapters of the RoTA saga, I'm pushing it back to the next chapter or the one after.

 _This should serve to show you exactly how different things could have turned out. Just looking back at this list, I realise that the whole story changed from a simple additional team in the RWBY-verse, ended up becoming the equivalent of my magnum opus. I guess when I said my brain dictates my writing, I really fucking meant it. So, I guess I'll see you all in "RoTA Vol. 2: Payback". See you then! Madman out!_


End file.
